This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at JMU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
The NHL is a busy league with games pretty much every single day. With that much hockey going on, there is so much room for random words and moments to all of a sudden become a part of everyday lingo. The slang is what makes hockey, hockey. Its culture is lively, and no one is quite as passionate as a hockey fan during a hate watch.
The Weird Slang
Bucket, Fishbowl, Bubble: Their helmet. Simple enough.
- You most commonly hear this phrase when a rookie is taking a rookie lap or when a fight breaks out. It’s a tradition to take this lap “bucketless.” Even though there is a fine for it, team veterans pay these fines for the rookie. A fishbowl/bubble is when the face covering part is a full face of plastic or metal cage.
Biscuit: The puck.
- I assume it’s because the puck looks like a biscuit after enough fights and hits, but who knows!
“Biscuit in the basket” = the puck went into the goal.
Bar Down: A goal that hit the crossbar, bounced off, and went in.
- This one is heard between players when they’re discussing plays and goals or by announcers when they scream it super loudly into the mic because their team just scored. Hard to do but pretty when it happens!
Cheese or Top Shelf: The part of the net that is under the crossbar.
- This is the hardest part of the goal for the goalie to protect, which means it becomes prime real estate for goal scoring. Additional nicknames may include: “top cheese,” “top cheddar,” or “where the cookies are hidden.”
Five Hole: Gap between the goalies legs.
- Each corner of the goal is a numbered gap going 1-4 clockwise. There is a fifth “hidden” gap and that is between the goalie’s legs when they’re in a butterfly stance.
Rat: Annoying player.
- They are so obnoxious that people can’t help but just throw punches. They use tactics that are technically legal, but when it happens, you’re screaming that it should be called. They have a mouth on them and know exactly what to say to get under one’s skin.
Most famous example: Brad Marchand from the Florida Panthers and, ironically, people say he looks like one, too…
Fan Traditions
A Rat Trick: Celebrating a Florida Panthers win.
- There’s some history. Long story short: in the 90s, a Panthers player killed a rat in the locker room and went on to score 2 goals with the murder stick; his goalie called it a rat trick. Fans would then throw plastic rats on the ice when a player scores 2 goals. Referees hated this and would penalize the team, so it turned into something where, after the Florida Panthers win a playoff game, plastic rats are thrown on the ice.
Octopus Toss: Fans wishing the Detroit Red Wings good luck.
- Again, more history. Traditionally, you need 8 wins in the playoffs to be able to win the Stanley Cup, the greatest trophy in all of sports. (I’m also biased towards hockey.) The 8 tentacles are supposed to represent these wins, and it’s seen as a sign of good luck. It started way back in the 1950s during the Original Six era where some fisherman tossed some of their hard work onto the ice. The Red Wings actually went undefeated through the playoffs that year, which is why it’s considered good luck now.
Rock the Red: Washington Capitals fans love Ovi.
- A marketing campaign from the glory days of a young Alex Ovechkin. Fans filled the rink with red in a new reimagined color scheme. They’re encouraged to create a sea of red. Eventually, it shifted to shouting “red” and “oh” during the national anthem in honor of Ovechkin. It became the basis of the fan engagement that they have to this day.
superstitions
Sidney Crosby Is Oh So Loyal
- Sidney Crosby is weirdly attached to his gear…like grossly attached. Some of the pieces he uses today are from his junior hockey or early NHL debut days. He also stickhandles the puck and traces the McDonald’s “M” before every game. M for good luck?
Don’t Say The S Word!
- When a goalie is playing a game and on his way to a shutout, you never actually say they’re going to get out a shutout. What if you jinx it? A lot of superstitions come from the weird personality you have if you’re a pro hockey player, and I think this is another good example of that.
Do Not Touch Lord Stanley
- If you haven’t won the Stanley Cup, then he is not yours to touch. It’s that simple. Players will take it to the extreme, though, and if anything even resembles the Stanley Cup, they won’t touch it — like when Macklin Celebrini was presented with a mini version and he refused to touch that.