An Officiating Double-Standard in Offsides Precision and Icing Precision

[Tofveve]

This has been going on for as long as I've watched the game (late 1970s) and I don't know why.

Offsides are precisely called with league reviews being the norm (goals being called back regularly). Meanwhile defensemen frequently shoot the puck into the offensive zone (rounding the end boards) from before the red line. It's usually a close dump-in, most times a foot or two on the wrong side of the red line. Do these icings ever get reviewed? I don't recall even one review. I mean the dump-in can lead to a goal similar to crossing the blue-line.

Abbreviated point: offsides are under the microscope to an inch or less while dump-ins are almost unanimously ignored.

One of the weirdest double-standards that I can't recall rigorous discussion on at any level (from chat boards to league officials).

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[hatterson]

This has been going on for as long as I've watched the game (late 1970s) and I don't know why.

Offsides are precisely called with league reviews being the norm (goals being called back regularly). Meanwhile defensemen frequently shoot the puck into the offensive zone (rounding the end boards) from before the red line. It's usually a close dump-in, most times a foot or two on the wrong side of the red line. Do these icings ever get reviewed? I don't recall even one review. I mean the dump-in can lead to a goal similar to crossing the blue-line.

Abbreviated point: offsides are under the microscope to an inch or less while dump-ins are almost unanimously ignored.

One of the weirdest double-standards that I can't recall rigorous discussion on at any level (from chat boards to league officials).

It's pretty crazy how much leeway they give players shooting the puck into the zone, but also an icing call is, by definition, not a goal and thus not something that's reviewed.

Offside also isn't treated super strict unless there's a goal.

 

[TKB]

Well do you really want all those plays to be called and stop the flow of the game?

From a former official's perspective (I worked Midget AA/AAA and high school), if a player is right there with no pressure, let it go (and you'd be surprised how much closer those plays are than they appear), if there is pressure or even potential pressure on the player dumping the puck, I'm going to be sure he get's the line.

Icings are incredibly discretionary, with several variables to watch for. If you are not consitent you will hear it.

Never really paid attention at the NHL level, but if no one is complaining keep the game flowing.

 

[1989]

I get the gripe here and it likely is a reasonable point to make but aside from sitting down the players during the off-season and telling them that they need to make entries cleaner AND making officials call the game to a more exacting point...

Does anyone want the game to be any slower with whistles?

While I don't think it's that hard to call plays more accurately from a player action or a referee action, I wonder if it's worth it.

On the flip side, there is a possible argument for player safety that I've seen or heard years ago where since the two-line pass was eliminated it enabled forecheckers to attack with more speed and therefore results in plays where there is a greater risk for injury.
I don't know if that was more of an urban myth, but slowing the game down with more accurate zone entry could assist there.

 

[JoeGarelli]

There is a follow through to consider if the player is within a stride of the line.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Totally agree with OP and have noticed this myself since a few years.
But can you imagine the number of times they would review this?
The game would become even harder to watch.

 

[HolyHagelin]

Bring back the race for the puck on icing calls!

 

[Troy McClure]

Offside also isn't treated super strict unless there's a goal.

And even that makes the whole process stupid.

Offside is one of those rules where I'm 100% ok with human error. Over the course of a game, linesmen will screw it up several times for both teams. It's fine. It evens out and doesn't swing games.

But the video review absolutely does swing games because it only ever applies to take goals away, which means of the handful of flubbed offsides calls a game, we're only addressing the rare instances where a goal immediately followed even though other unchallengeable flubs might have preceded any number of events ultimately leading to goals.

 

[CanesUltimate11]

I get the gripe here and it likely is a reasonable point to make but aside from sitting down the players during the off-season and telling them that they need to make entries cleaner AND making officials call the game to a more exacting point...

Does anyone want the game to be any slower with whistles?

While I don't think it's that hard to call plays more accurately from a player action or a referee action, I wonder if it's worth it.

On the flip side, there is a possible argument for player safety that I've seen or heard years ago where since the two-line pass was eliminated it enabled forecheckers to attack with more speed and therefore results in plays where there is a greater risk for injury.
I don't know if that was more of an urban myth, but slowing the game down with more accurate zone entry could assist there.

The league somewhat addressed this by allowing the more subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) interference back into the game on the dump ins to slow down those forwards. That could be an interesting thing to try where they start cracking down on the interference again but really tighten up on icing calls to offset that speed and injury potential. Probably wouldn't go over well though to bring in more PPs and more stoppages via icing.

 

[PatchesOhoulihan]

Bring back the race for the puck on icing calls!

Yes

 

[llamateizer]

Bring back the race for the puck on icing calls!

Joni Pitkanen disagree

 

[Dr Pepper]

I just wish they could drop the puck faster so play can resume......feels like there's been a lot of false starts and quick whistles.

 

[Chips]

It’s not just icing. There’s obvious human element and inconsistencies across the game, and slight offsides is one of the least important but that’s what we make a whole thing of.


We do not need icing reviews because there’s offsides reviews. We need to get rid of or at least restrict offside reviews.