rag the puck

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rag the puck (third-person singular simple present rags the puck, present participle ragging the puck, simple past and past participle ragged the puck)

1. (ice hockey) To retain possession of the puck by skillful skating and stickhandling without attempting to score, as a deliberate tactic intended to use up time.
   • 2002 September 11, “Blues frustrated again by Detroit efficiency”, in Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 12 May 2008:

     So confident and serene were the Red Wings that despite have several opportunities to attempt empty-netters from their own end, they opted to coolly rag the puck in the neutral zone.

2. (chiefly Canada, by extension) To proceed slowly in order to use up time; to stall for time.
   • 2004 September 30, Michael Vaughan, “Five Questions for President, CEO Hyundai Canada”, in Globe and Mail, Toronto, retrieved 12 May 2008:

     You're having a brutal year, with sales of Hyundais in Canada down nearly 20 per cent. Are you just trying to rag the puck and kill time until the new Sonatas arrive?

   • 2010 June 12, Michael Ignatieff, “Harper may be ‘ragging the puck’ on detainee records: Ignatieff”, in Globe and Mail, Toronto, retrieved 12 June 2010:

     We're kind of running the clock here and there's a question as to whether the government's ragging the puck. There's absolutely no reason why we can't get an agreement. I'm optimistic we can, but it's getting a bit late.

• run out the clock