Paul Bissonnette attributes Edmonton Oilers' goal vs Pittsburgh Penguins to their white jerseys: "Away team jerseys blend in with ice"

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Mar 10, 2024 19:02 GMT

In an ongoing game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, a unique perspective surfaced from former NHL player Paul Bissonnette regarding the impact of jersey color on gameplay.

As the Oilers were leading 1-0 in the second period, Bissonnette pointed out a crucial moment where the Penguins' white jerseys inadvertently led to a turnover and, subsequently, a goal for the Oilers.

Defenseman Kris Letang attempted to pass the puck to Michael Bunting, but the puck found its way to Connor McDavid, who, according to Bissonnette, blended in with the ice due to his white jersey.

This camouflage effect resulted in the Penguins' miscalculation, allowing McDavid to capitalize and extend the Oilers' lead to 2-0.

Reflecting on his own experiences, Paul Bissonnette noted that, as a player, he often struggled with turnovers when facing teams wearing white jerseys.

He explained during the NHL on TNT broadcast that the white jerseys could blend in too much with the ice, leading to errors in judgment and misplaced passes, colloquially referred to as "throwing pizzas."

"Sometimes with my peripheral vision, when I was playing with these teams wearing white jerseys, it blended in too much with the ice, and that's why I throwing a lot of pizzas." Biz said

Paul Bissonnette suggested a potential solution to this issue, proposing that the home team should be the one to don the white jerseys.

"I think the home team should be wearing the white jersey, but when teams are wearing whites, sometimes it blends in to much of the eyes." Biz said

"Therefore, you know, you accidentally throw pizzos kind of like this, as we're going to see. You see Tanger coming the ice. he probably should have just went up the wall with this, but as you get ... he doesn't see McDavid, because he's blending with the Ice."

Insider Elliotte Friedman discusses his screen time with Paul Bissonnette

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman disclosed on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that he's been clocking in an average of "over 17" hours of screen time on his phone daily, particularly before the NHL trade deadline.

“This time of year, it’s crazy, you don’t really get a lot of sleep,” Friedman said. “I don’t think I turned my phone off for almost a decade after that.”

To which Paul Bissonnette replied:

“Whatever you’re making, it’s not enough, buddy. Seventeen hours a day. They’re going to have to donate your brain to science."

Well, Bissonnette isn't wrong if it's indeed true.