{"id":47191,"date":"2019-05-20T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=47191"},"modified":"2019-05-19T21:07:13","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T01:07:13","slug":"nhl-playoff-officiating-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/05\/20\/nhl-playoff-officiating-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Playoff Officiating Under Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NHL playoff officiating is under fire, and rightfully so. Bad calls have plagued the playoffs thus far and it&#8217;s getting out of control. One such bad call cost the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/knights\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> a series-deciding game. Another cost the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/blues\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">St. Louis Blues<\/a> a pivotal Game 3 in the Western Conference Final, in overtime, no less.<\/p>\n<h1>NHL Playoff Officiating Needs to Improve<\/h1>\n<p>In any professional sport when calls are missed it damages the reputation of the sport. The NHL is fully aware of this. When the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/05\/16\/erik-karlsson-san-jose-sharks-get-controversial-game-3-win-over-st-louis-blues\/\" target=\"_self\">hand pass wasn&#8217;t called<\/a> in the Blues\/<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/sharks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Jose Sharks<\/a> game the league felt they needed to comment on it.<\/p>\n<p>This was what NHL executive vice-president\u00a0<strong>Colin Campbell<\/strong> had to say about it on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/hockey\/nhl\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sportsnet<\/a>&#8216;s Hockey Central at Noon:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ziCssJof_c0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So, what solutions are possible? Many say adding a play such as the hand-pass or a puck off the spectator netting should be added to plays which can be reviewed. The flipside of that argument is, does it slow down the game too much? When a team has gained some momentum wouldn&#8217;t that delay ruin the flow of the game?<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it would, but you can bet the league takes these issues into their discussions over summer meetings of the general managers. They can&#8217;t ignore them&#8230; they won&#8217;t just go away.<\/p>\n<p>The other issue is what is wrong with a hand-pass? They allow it in the defensive zone. So, what was wrong with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/meierti01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Timo Meier<\/strong><\/a> just batting the puck down (since he was on his knees) and couldn&#8217;t use his stick to direct the puck? It didn&#8217;t appear that he was intentionally thinking, <em>&#8220;oh, let me get it over to<\/em> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/karlser01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erik Karlsson<\/a><\/strong><em> so he can score the winning goal.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Sharks Have Benefited From Two Questionable Calls<\/h2>\n<p>Everyone still remembers the other major missed call by the officials in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2019\/04\/24\/san-jose-sharks-comeback-to-down-vegas-golden-knights-in-game-7\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vegas Golden Knights\/San Jose Game 7<\/a>. Sharks captain\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/paveljo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Pavelski<\/a> <\/strong>was cross-checked and fell to the ice in the faceoff circle. It is a certainty that Pavelski clearly remembers it. He missed 15 days and the next six games in round two due to the head injury he sustained when he hit the ice.<\/p>\n<p>He sported a football-style face guard to protect his face after he had been hit in the mouth with a puck earlier. That occurred in the first period of Game 1 against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/knights\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>. Pavelski returned in the second period.<\/p>\n<p>Many feel that the Sharks received a gift by having a five-minute major called against <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/eakinco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cody Eakin<\/a><\/strong> of the Knights. It gave the San Jose club a chance to eliminate a three-goal deficit. Eventually, the Sharks prevailed in overtime to take the decisive Game 7.<\/p>\n<h2>Another Missed Call Didn&#8217;t Decide the Game<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IBIzuw1RXYs\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This missed call happened during Game 4 with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/blue-jackets\/https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/blue-jackets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> playing the visiting<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/bruins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Boston Bruins<\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/panarar01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Artemi Panarin<\/strong><\/a> was the lucky player to score on a missed call when the puck hit the spectator netting. Granted he didn&#8217;t grab the puck when it fell from the netting but teammate\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bjorkol01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Oliver Bjorkstrand<\/strong><\/a> did, who passed to Panarin, who scored.<\/p>\n<p>At the time it cut the Boston lead in half to 2-1 and ruined <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rasktu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tuukka Rask<\/strong><\/a>&#8216;s shutout.<\/p>\n<p>The rule here states: <em>&#8220;When pucks that hit the spectator netting undetected by the on-ice officials, &#8220;immediately&#8221; shall mean the following:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>A) When the puck strikes the spectator netting and deflects directly into the goal off of any player;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>B) When the puck strikes the spectator netting and falls into the goal by the player who retrieves the puck.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In both of the above scenarios, the NHL situation room must have definitive video evidence of the puck striking the netting in order to disallow the goal&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Of course, this may need to be resolved as a reviewable play when the NHL decides to discuss such issues. It seems that if we can put a man on the moon we should be able to detect when a puck hits the protective netting with some sort of buzzer, light, etc. to help the officials know the puck is out of play.<\/p>\n<h2>Action by the League Must Happen to Address NHL Playoff Officiating<\/h2>\n<p>The NHL doesn&#8217;t like bad public relations, and this is surely causing a ton of it for them. Granted reviewable plays happen much more frequently in the instance of offsides, and goalie interference rather than the above examples.<\/p>\n<p>With that said, the league should act in some manner to address these pitfalls. Officials are human and if the average person thinks they wouldn&#8217;t miss some of these calls they&#8217;re kidding themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, there are now eight officials who have been banned from working any more NHL playoff games due to the missed calls.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s hope the crews working the Stanley Cup Final can avert any of the embarrassing missed calls. I mean if it occurs again in the last round, things will become drastic if not detrimental to the game&#8217;s integrity.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"jIkQPcKCTflYklG648EQ3w\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1149386611\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'jIkQPcKCTflYklG648EQ3w',sig:'G424ZdPQxjPwHJ_nKghLlxn0MC6HJojM0nmQ1Z6-iAc=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1149386611',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NHL playoff officiating is under fire, and rightfully so. Bad calls have plagued the playoffs thus far and it&#8217;s getting out of control. One such bad call cost the Vegas Golden Knights a series-deciding game. Another cost the St. Louis Blues a pivotal Game 3 in the Western Conference Final, in overtime, no less. NHL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2959,"featured_media":47204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,28,25,32,18,807],"tags":[782,1021,111,550,368,290,117,39,429,178,961],"class_list":["post-47191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bruins","category-avalanche","category-sharks","category-blues","category-leafs","category-vegas-golden-knights","tag-artemi-panarin","tag-cody-eakin","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-erik-karlsson","tag-joe-pavelski","tag-oliver-bjorkstrand","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-st-louis-blues","tag-timo-meier","tag-tuukka-rask","tag-vegas-golden-knights"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}