Q. Why does the dasherboard glass break into tiny pieces at some arenas and at others it will just crack and not shatter?
A. An arena will usually use either tempered glass or plexiglass (acrylic) for their dasherboard glass. The tempered glass is much heavier and more resistant to scratches. However when it breaks, it will shatter into thousands of pieces. The plexiglass is much lighter and is more subject to scratches but when it starts to break will first form tiny cracks. Eventually a piece might break off but there will not be the shattering as in tempered glass.