Habs/Preds Post-Game October 19th 2013

It's going to be hard to forget this one for the faithful, and for all the wrong reasons. While the Canadiens will come up short 2-1 in the books, nothing can do justice to the gaffe caused by the referees.

The Canadiens were on the receiving end of controversy Saturday night. Lars Eller seemed to have scored th go ahead goal midway through the third period but the call made by the official was reversed upon further review.To make matters worse, a statement was issued by the NHL. This statement failed to identify any rules that were followed and was only able to state that each official agreed the puck never crossed the line. This would not be as hard to swallow if the play was blown dead by an official who clearly indicated by pointing his arm towards the goal to indicate a goal had been scored!

While the "he said, he said" won't do much in this situation it is painful to think the NHL won't stand it's ground on its own guidelines.

The game itself was played as typically as one could expect of a matchup with the Predators. A high caliber defense combined with an exceptional goalie and a less than threatening attack. Most could have anticipated the game would finish with fewer than 4 goals crossing the goal line. 

Rinne and Price played outstanding. Neither permitted the puck to get by save for something exceptional as was the beautiful toe drag game winner by rookie sensation Seth Jones.

With 2 minutes left on the clock, the game tied at ones and seeming like the fans would need to stay a little longer. Montreal failed to clear the puck from their zone, most noticeably Travis Moen flailing his stick while lying on the ice, the puck found its way to the stick of Jones, who pulled off a slick toe drag to set up his own wrister that got by Price. Along with the goal was his 27 minute workload that was beaten only by long time captain and all-star Shea Weber, 28 minutes. 

It is very possible that the game could have gone out of hand much earlier had the Habs not been able to play such a stellar game short-handed, eventually finishing 5-6 on the PK. Most famously was the referee calling an "embezzlement" penalty against Subban. The Canadiens allowed one goal off of a shot by Weber, that hit 2 Canadiens on the way in. Price should not be faulted at all as it was a shot during the tail-end of an early 5-3 that bounced off of Prust and than Gorges before finding the net. 

Brandan Gallagher played his heart out tonight. For a player who does not boast the most size he certainly puts rubber on the net. He may not possess the greatest shot but any great scorer will tell you that the only way to score is to put the puck on net, he had a total of 9 SOG. His goal came as advertised, a scrum in front of the net found its way to the back of the net. 

The Canadiens should be commended on their ability to play while fighting off in game injuries. Danny Briere suffered a concussion, Brandon Prust took a fall into the end boards and left favoring his shoulder and Josh Gorges received a hit that delivered contact to both sides of his head. The injury list is starting to pile-up for the Canadiens in this short season and it will be a tough test to see how much they can fight the coming opponents in the Oilers, Sharks and Ducks. The farm in Hamilton will be getting a few calls and the fans will get an opportunity to see some of the Habs pipeline. 

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Gregson To Blame For Officiating Issues

Officiating has become a focal point in this NHL season. From terrible calls to referees putting away their whistles, media and fans alike have clamored that there are significant issues that are affecting the overall quality of the product on the ice.

We can point fingers at individual officials, such as Tim Peel and Chris Lee, who time and time again have demonstrated levels of competency that one can find at the bottom of a commode. Others, like Paul Devorski and Dan O'Hallaran, have shown an innate inability to keep control of overly physical contests, often resembling zebras frozen stiff as they wait to be pounced on by a hungry lion.

Gone are the likes of Bruce Hood, Brian Lewis, Kerry Fraser, Andy Van Hellemond and Don Koharski, whose ability to get along with players and coaches was among their strongest assets.

Van Hellemond's reputation earned him the position of NHL Director of Officiating from 2000-2004, a position he took over from Lewis. Van Hellemond resigned in 2004 to pursue other interests when the year-long NHL lockout seemed inevitable. During his tenure, the NHL was rich with referees who thought themselves smaller than the game (although one could argue that Mick McGough was the exception).

After the lockout ended, the NHL introduced a new set of rules and a new Director of Officiating, that being Stephen Walkom. Walkom was another well-respected official, who decided to move his career in another direction. Walkom did an admirable job in extremely volatile circumstances. His overseeing of the new obstruction rules introduced after the lockout was a daunting task, and he did a good job making sure they were enforced.

However, as scrutiny began to grow as officials began changing their modus operandi in the playoffs, Walkom decided in 2009 it was in his best interest to return to the ice as an official.

That opened the door to the crux of the current officiating dilemma, the hiring of former NHL referee Terry Gregson on September 9th, 2009.

Gregson served as an NHL referee from 1981 to 2004. He officiated over 8 Stanley Cup finals in his career, as well as an All-Star Game, and the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. He built a reputation of being a no-nonsense official, who called the game HIS way.

His way, however, mimicked the inconsistency we currently see in the league. Gregson was notorious of putting away his whistle very often at the end of games. Further, he was loathed by some NHL coaches because of an obvious bias he had towards certain organizations, including the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres.

That became evident during the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, when Gregson didn't show the intestinal fortitude to disallow the now infamous toe-in-the-crease, Stanley Cup winning goal by Dallas Stars' sniper Brett Hull.

Gregson retired before the new set of rules, designed to speed up the game and increase flow, were implemented by the National Hockey League. Often viewed as a stubborn coot as an on-ice official, that is evident in his current disregard for rule enforcement. He has allowed his wards to run their assigned games their way, in turn soiling the product on the ice and confusing those closest to the game.

In four years, Terry Gregson has certainly left an in-admirable stench over the National Hockey League. Hopefully, the NHL Board of Directors, Gary Bettman and the league office will see the light, and do what Gregson couldn't...

Make the right call!!!

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NHL Officials Allowed Too Much Gray

Not only did the Canadiens got jobbed on the goal by Mika Zibinijad in Game 4 versus the Ottawa Senators last night, but I also believe the tying goal by Corey Conacher was just as suspect.

I understand entirely that any reviewed goal is subject to the call made on the ice, and the interpretation by the video review judges in the war room in Toronto, and completely respect the complexity of each individual situation. I do not, however, understand how a professional sports league can function knowing full well that their rules are subject to constant scrutiny.

The Senators' rookie (for those of you who haven't seen it a million times), scored a questionable goal off his skate in the third period last night to get Ottawa within a goal of the Canadiens. The pass, made by Sens' perennial pest Chris Neal, came off the shaft of Jarred Tinordi's stick and then made contact with Zibinijad's skate.

Many think the fact that the puck deflected off Tinordi was the principle reason the goal was allowed are dead wrong.


NHL Rule 49.2 - Goals

Puck directed or batted into the net by a hand or foot. 

With the use of a foot/skate, was a distinct kicking motion evident? If so, the apparent goal must be disallowed. 

A DISTINCT KICKING MOTION is one which, with a pendulum motion, the player propels the puck with his skate into the net. 

If the Video Goal Judge determines that it was put into the net by an attacking player using a distinct kicking motion, it must be ruled NO GOAL. This would also be true even if the puck, after being kicked, deflects off any other player of either team and then into the net. This is still NO GOAL. 

A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player’s skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal. A puck that is directed into the net by an attacking player’s skate shall be a legitimate goal as long as no distinct kicking motion is evident. 

(i) A kicked puck that deflects off the body of any player of either team (including the goalkeeper) shall be ruled no goal.

(ii) A kicked puck that deflects off the stick of any player (excluding the goalkeeper’s stick) shall be ruled a good goal.

(iii)   A goal will be allowed when an attacking player kicks the puck and the puck deflects off his own stick and then into the net.

The argument is the actual definition of a distinct kicking motion. A pendulum motion requires a player pull their foot back, then thrust forward. On that premise, the Zibinijad goal is allowable. Since when does someone have to pull their foot back to kick forwards?

But this isn't soccer, right? Why are players allowed to score off their skate to begin with. From inception, hockey was designed to be played with a stick. As long as a rule allows for players to score off their feet, the debate will continue to rage on.

A simple adjustment to the rule would clear the air and eliminate the gray. In my own wording, it would read:

A puck that deflects of the hands/feet of a opposing player immediately prior crossing the goal shall be ruled NO GOAL.

If you eliminate goals that can be scored off a player's extremities, the debate is done...PERIOD!!!

On the Conacher goal, both on-ice official missed Kyle Turris applying a chicken wing on Carey Price's goal stick just prior to the goal being scored.

Rule 69.3 - Contact Inside the Goal Crease 

If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the goal crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

If, after any contact by a goalkeeper who is attempting to establish position in his goal crease, the attacking player does not immediately vacate his current position in the goal crease (i.e. give ground to the goalkeeper), and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed. In all such cases, whether or not a goal is scored, the attacking player will receive a minor penalty for goalkeeper interference.

If an attacking player establishes a significant position within the goal crease, so as to obstruct the goalkeeper’s vision and impair his ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

For this purpose, a player “establishes a significant position within the crease” when, in the Referee’s judgment, his body, or a substantial portion thereof, is within the goal crease for more than an instantaneous period of time.

Not only does Turris impede Price's ability to make the necessary save, but, in my humble opinion as a former goaltender, he is the principle reason why the Canadiens' netminder got hurt on the play. Price's over-extension and inability to push off while having his stick held was obvious.

We've seen Brandon Prust get called for lesser infraction against Senators' goalie, Craig Anderson, in this series alone. Because Price was more preoccupied with stopping the puck than embellishing the contact, does that make it less of a goalie interference penalty?

NHL on-ice officials wore gray shirts back in the day. Maybe they should swap their stripes for those jerseys again, so at least the players and coaches can be reminded about where they stand.

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