It’s Not Easly For Some Players To Change Their Game

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet, When they remade the game coming out the 2004-05 lockout, there were slower, old school players like Richard Matvichuk or Derian Hatcher who lacked the mobility for the new game. The new rules eliminated their strong points (obstruction), and exacerbated their weaknesses (speed). Now without all that hooking and holding, yesterday’s valuable hitter is today’s concussion on skate blades. Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke has very publicly promised to change his game. Toronto’s Colby Armstrong, once one of the league’s most dangerous hitters, has quietly left that element of his game behind. Raffi Torres, who has walked more times than Tony Soprano, finally got two games Monday for a bad hit on Minnesota’s Nate Prosser. It was a head shot that would have been nothing a couple seasons ago, and one that Torres has been delivering ever since he came into the NHL. “It’s weird now,” said Chicago’s Daniel C...