The great thing about the NHL playoffs – in direct contrast to the regular season – is that everything matters and is under greater scrutiny. Should the coach be juggling his lines to promote more offense? Should he go right back to a goalie who really struggled his last time out?
That idea is no different when it comes to the referee crews that are out there to enforce the rules – every call matters. However, it seems like this year in the playoffs, the on-ice officials and the people in the NHL Operations Department seem to be working with different versions of the NHL’s rule book, creating a series of controversial calls that are affecting the outcomes of various series.
Sedin's 'Skate-Gate' Caused Quite A Stir In Vancouver
‘Skate Gate’ in Vancouver/LA Series Sends Canucks Fans Into Frenzy
Take Game 3 of the Vancouver/LA series, for example – which the Vancouver newspapers have affectionately now referred to as ‘Skate Gate’.
The controversy in question took place early in the 3rd period of said Game 3, with the Kings leading 4-2. Canucks’ winger Alex Burrows threw the puck in front of the net, where linemate Daniel Sedin rushed in and slammed on the brakes – so as not to completely SMOKE Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick. In the process of stopping, his skate blade redirected the puck into the net.
The ruling on the ice was GOAL. But just to be safe, the officials conferred with the “War Room” at the NHL offices in Toronto, who review EVERY SINGLE GOAL SCORED IN EVERY SINGLE GAME anyway.
The subsequent call after video review – which was to rule Sedin’s redirection with his skate as NO GOAL – in my opinion did horrific damage to the credibility of the on-ice officials.
I have never been a fan of video review. I honestly believe that over he course of a season, breaks have a way of evening out. Of course, in a short playoff series that lasts only 4-to-7 games – where every goal is magnified – that doesn’t allow for a lot of time for the evening out to occur. So I give the NHL the benefit of the doubt, as they clearly want the right call to be made in every instance possible.
But after what ensued during this particular video review, I no longer can give the league the benefit of the doubt.
Replay Officials Overturn Sedin Goal After Seven-Minute Review
For starters, the two referees on the ice, Paul Devorski and Steve Kozari, call it a good goal, meaning there has to be “irrefutable video evidence” that both zebras botched the call in order for it to be overturned. After the play was sent ‘upstairs’, the official review took a whopping SEVEN MINUTES to determine that in fact the goal would be disallowed.
Aside from the obvious – that the review process in this instance was too lengthy – how many replays do you figure the boys in Toronto actually looked at in this time? All of which determined that a “distinct kicking motion” was used in order for the goal to be negated?
Regardless of whether you watched that game and feel strongly one way or the other as to whether or not it was a good goal, what concerns me is that if a group of guys looking at all those slo-mo, super slo-mo and video enhanced replays take SEVEN minutes to make the call, HOW COULD THE EVIDENCE BE IRREFUTABLE? Clearly, there was no “distinct kicking motion”, yet VP of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy defended his decision by irresponsibly saying, “(Sedin) knew what he was doing”, causing a major uproar in Vancouver that required the intervention of Commissioner Gary Bettman to calm the situation.
Here was Murphy’s rationale for ‘Skate Gate’, as explained on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.
Did Hossa Deserve A Game Misconduct Or Suspension For Boarding Hamhuis?
Double-Standard Set After Marian Hossa Boarding Incident
On the heels of that controversial call, we come to the new question du jour about the officiating – specifically, how did Chicago’s Marian Hossa only receive a 5-minute boarding penalty – thereby allowing him to stay in the game to score the OT winner against Nashville in Saturday’s pivotal Game 5 – when everyone and their brother thinks he should have been ejected for his reckless push from behind on Dan Hamhuis into the end boards late in regulation? After all, wasn’t that the exact same hit that got Alexander Ovechkin tossed AND suspended for 2 games when he did basically the same thing to Chicago’s Brian Campbell? And how pissed does Nashville have the right to be now that league disciplinarian Colin Campbell has ruled Hossa will not receive any suspension?
Answer: Extremely.
Pittsburgh/Ottawa Game 6 Features Two Disallowed Goals
Let’s look at the two disallowed goals from Pittsburgh’s series clinching win over Ottawa in Game 6 on Saturday. Mike Fisher’s apparent goal would have given the Sens a commanding 4-1 lead in the 2nd period, but the goal was waved off because one post appeared to come off it’s mooring a split-second before the puck crossed the goal line, even though that didn’t affect the path of the puck at any point.
Or how about Pittsburgh having a goal called back – almost as a blatant even up call – when it was ruled that Sens goalie Pascal Leclaire couldn’t move because Evgeni Malkin was lying on top of him? Easy call, right? Oh, but did I mention that the only reason Malkin was on top of Leclaire was because he was shoved there by an Ottawa defenceman? The shocking end result was no goal and no penalty either. Tell me how that is consistent with the rule book?
But my personal favourite blown call from these playoffs comes once again from Game 3 of the Vancouver-Los Angeles series, where referee Kozari actually raises his arm to call a Holding the Stick penalty, only to drop his arm in an unprecedented move after four seconds to let the play go. When asked about this afterward, NHL off-ice officials said that Kozari noticed that fellow referee Devorski – who was closer to the play – wasn’t going to call it and “deferred” to the senior official. Now you’re telling me that referees can DEFER CALLS to each other?
Reffing ain’t easy. In fact, I don’t think there’s a tougher officiating job out there than hockey. But it’s a crying shame, during such an entertaining playoffs, that the referees and the NHL’s hockey operations department seem to be getting the most ink so far, and it’s not to congratulate them for a job well done.
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In the playoffs, rules are merely guidelines and the line “we don’t want to affect the outcome” is garbage. A non call is as bad as the call that should be made. The NHl is farce.
You said it, Schwartzie. Farcical indeed. I guess what makes reffing a hockey game so difficult is the ‘feel’ required to properly make calls without killing the flow. In basketball, you can call 20-25 fouls a half, and no one will really blink an eye (unless Tim Donaghy is the ref). Hockey can’t do the same without taking away from the product. Too many penalties ruin the game. On one hand, I give the refs credit – there used to be a time – only about 10 years ago – when absolutely NOTHING was called in the late stages of the 3rd and OT. Even blatant penalties. So they’ve figured that out. I actually think the refs on the ice, for the most part, are doing an amazing job. It’s the message from upstairs – where guys like Bettman, Campbell and Murphy are talking out of both sides of their mouths that kills me. Consistency from above please. Put standards in place. Adhere to these standards. Pretty simple, no?