Why do the Oilers have difficulty drawing power plays?

[McFlash97]

Theres def a element of Referee bias here. Its been ongoing the whole season. Turn blind eye to McDavid, Draisaitl contantly being hooked, held, interfered with, then as soon as Kassian, Maroon, Lucic, Nurse etc step onto the ice its tunnel vision fixated on them looking for any reason to make a call.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He's actually got skill and can skate though.

Most of the calls he draws is due to instigation. Players retaliating. The NHL actually heavily reinforces that stuff. The NHL actually loves prick players that stir. It sells drama and tickets. They reinforce troll players anyway they can. Tkachuk is money for the league. In one instance he even assaulted a player leaving the ice, the opponent came back on the ice and got a suspension for it. Tkachuk got nothing.

Years ago Marchand punched a Sedin 3 times in the face between whistles (SC final, NHL best officials) with Sedin just standing there. (I can't tell them apart, forget which one) Sedin later stated he wanted to see if the NHL would draw any line on that scrum stuff. He was allowing himself to be hit to see if there was going to be any limit. Clearly there wasn't. The NHL didn't want to call that stuff and didn't. Its always been like this here. As long as I've watched NHL hockey the league consciously allows mayhem/instigation and only ever dials back when criminal charges are involved, and then it worries a little, for very brief times.

 

[yababy]

Most of the calls he draws is due to instigation. Players retaliating. The NHL actually heavily reinforces that stuff. The NHL actually loves prick players that stir. It sells drama and tickets. They reinforce troll players anyway they can. Tkachuk is money for the league. In one instance he even assaulted a player leaving the ice, the opponent came back on the ice and got a suspension for it. Tkachuk got nothing.

Years ago Marchand punched a Sedin 3 times in the face between whistles (SC final, NHL best officials) with Sedin just standing there. (I can't tell them apart, forget which one) Sedin later stated he wanted to see if the NHL would draw any line on that scrum stuff. He was allowing himself to be hit to see if there was going to be any limit. Clearly there wasn't. The NHL didn't want to call that stuff and didn't. Its always been like this here. As long as I've watched NHL hockey the league consciously allows mayhem/instigation and only ever dials back when criminal charges are involved, and then it worries a little, for very brief times.

The NHL did not want Vancouver to win the cup. If it were Sedin kangaroo punching Marchand there would have been a roughing penalty

 

[McDaddy]

He's actually got skill and can skate though.

Oh but Connor doesn't? Kind of a useless response.

 

[Soundwave]

It's not so much bias I think, it's more that NHL reffing = basically refs being taught that "interfering in the game is bad". So they don't want to call a bunch of penalties against McDavid even though he's interfered with basically every 2nd shift.

So they don't call anything but the most blatant/egregious calls and he then they sometimes get that wrong.

It's the opposite of the NBA where star players are protected by the refs, in the NHL being a star player is a detriment from a reffing POV.

 

[BlackDogg]

Can this even be possible that this is not intentional with the most dangerous player in the league?

Its not even close to the next lowest team on PP opportunitites.


NHL.com - Stats

 

[Porkleaker]

With McDavid's obvious speed advantage yeah, he SHOULD be drawing 5-6 calls a game easily but we're lucky if it's even 1, it's a total joke. They probably think it's unfair and are butthurt about us even having him.

 

[BakedYams]

In one instance he even assaulted a player leaving the ice, the opponent came back on the ice and got a suspension for it. Tkachuk got nothing.

If you're referring to the 'assault' Tkachuk did against Witkowski where said player got suspended 10 games, Tkachuk was indeed suspended 1 game.

 

[DearDiary]

Most penalties are given out deep in the defensive zone from defending against the cycle. The Oilers have a weak cycle, so it's not hard to see why they don't draw many penalties.

 

[HugginThePost]

The NHL did not want Vancouver to win the cup. If it were Sedin kangaroo punching Marchand there would have been a roughing penalty

Huh? Marchand was penalized on the play.

 

[HugginThePost]

Most of the calls he draws is due to instigation. Players retaliating. The NHL actually heavily reinforces that stuff. The NHL actually loves prick players that stir. It sells drama and tickets. They reinforce troll players anyway they can. Tkachuk is money for the league. In one instance he even assaulted a player leaving the ice, the opponent came back on the ice and got a suspension for it. Tkachuk got nothing.

Years ago Marchand punched a Sedin 3 times in the face between whistles (SC final, NHL best officials) with Sedin just standing there. (I can't tell them apart, forget which one) Sedin later stated he wanted to see if the NHL would draw any line on that scrum stuff. He was allowing himself to be hit to see if there was going to be any limit. Clearly there wasn't. The NHL didn't want to call that stuff and didn't. Its always been like this here. As long as I've watched NHL hockey the league consciously allows mayhem/instigation and only ever dials back when criminal charges are involved, and then it worries a little, for very brief times.

Oh boy......that's beyond a stretch. Elasti-Girl would be proud!

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Perhaps knowing how bad the PP is McLellan spoke to the refs earlier in the season and was like 'don't even worry about it'

 

[yababy]

Huh? Marchand was penalized on the play.

There was no penalty.

Daniel Sedin a punching back for Marchand

"And Daniel Sedin stood there and kept taking punch after punch after punch. Did Sedin wonder how many punches it would take for Marchand to get a penalty?
"Maybe after the fifth. But I took six. What can I do?" said Sedin, clearly agitated after being Marchand's punching bag in the third period.
An emotional Sedin said something afterward to referee Kelly Sutherland.
"I asked him why he didn't call the penalty. He said he was going to," Sedin said."

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

There was no penalty.

Daniel Sedin a punching back for Marchand

"And Daniel Sedin stood there and kept taking punch after punch after punch. Did Sedin wonder how many punches it would take for Marchand to get a penalty?
"Maybe after the fifth. But I took six. What can I do?" said Sedin, clearly agitated after being Marchand's punching bag in the third period.
An emotional Sedin said something afterward to referee Kelly Sutherland.
"I asked him why he didn't call the penalty. He said he was going to," Sedin said."

That was the moment you knew Vancouver wasn't going to win the Cup.

 

[yababy]

That was the moment you knew Vancouver wasn't going to win the Cup.

That was the moment I realized that a Canadian team will never win a Cup with Bettman as Commissioner

 

[oobga]

Interesting piece on NHL officiating:
The NHL Has An Officiating Problem | The Oilers Rig

These numbers do make sense IMO. Only 17% of real infractions are called. Only 28% of blatant ones are called by this guys numbers.

In reality, refs can make games into whatever they want. If they want to make a call, there will always be something available to them. If they don't want to call something on a team, the precedent has been long set that they can ignore whatever they feel like ignoring. Fans almost expect it, even though we boo and hiss.

In the end though, most games still end up very close in calls, 1-2 difference usually, rarely more, in the name of parity. Teams that are near the top in PP opportunities usually end up near the top in times shorthanded too, because the refs always feel they need to keep things even.

That said, I think we have definitely been an outlier this year. It's ridiculous how little calls we draw. It's a historically low level. I don't think our org has been shining the light on this that they should. We haven't said a word since Carlyle put it out there last playoffs that McDavid and the Oilers were getting special treatment.

 

[HugginThePost]

There was no penalty.

Daniel Sedin a punching back for Marchand

"And Daniel Sedin stood there and kept taking punch after punch after punch. Did Sedin wonder how many punches it would take for Marchand to get a penalty?
"Maybe after the fifth. But I took six. What can I do?" said Sedin, clearly agitated after being Marchand's punching bag in the third period.
An emotional Sedin said something afterward to referee Kelly Sutherland.
"I asked him why he didn't call the penalty. He said he was going to," Sedin said."

Marchand got 2 for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct for his "punching bag" routine.

It was stated that Sedin didn't fight back because he wanted the power play to get back into the game.....a game that they were down by 3 with a minute and a half to go.

Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins Box Score — June 13, 2011 | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[Hynh]

He's actually got skill and can skate though.

No he can't. My dad's a Flames fan and he laughs at how pathetic Tkachuk's skating is.

 

[yababy]

Marchand got 2 for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct for his "punching bag" routine.

It was stated that Sedin didn't fight back because he wanted the power play to get back into the game.....a game that they were down by 3 with a minute and a half to go.

Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins Box Score — June 13, 2011 | Hockey-Reference.com

I remember it incorrectly then.

What's worse is that the game was basically over...why is Sedin trying to draw a penalty.
This is what I will always remember about Sedin

 

[HugginThePost]

I remember it incorrectly then.

What's worse is that the game was basically over...why is Sedin trying to draw a penalty.
This is what I will always remember about Sedin

Don't worry about it.....most people will say that Marchand wasn't penalized. Just one of those urban myths.

I don't deny Sedin was trying to draw a penalty, I truly believe he was. I only question why??

 

[Porkleaker]

Interesting piece on NHL officiating:
The NHL Has An Officiating Problem | The Oilers Rig

These numbers do make sense IMO. Only 17% of real infractions are called. Only 28% of blatant ones are called by this guys numbers.

In reality, refs can make games into whatever they want. If they want to make a call, there will always be something available to them. If they don't want to call something on a team, the precedent has been long set that they can ignore whatever they feel like ignoring. Fans almost expect it, even though we boo and hiss.

In the end though, most games still end up very close in calls, 1-2 difference usually, rarely more, in the name of parity. Teams that are near the top in PP opportunities usually end up near the top in times shorthanded too, because the refs always feel they need to keep things even.

That said, I think we have definitely been an outlier this year. It's ridiculous how little calls we draw. It's a historically low level. I don't think our org has been shining the light on this that they should. We haven't said a word since Carlyle put it out there last playoffs that McDavid and the Oilers were getting special treatment.

It makes sense but its also a joke with the amount of bs players like McDavid have to put up with, because there are many blatant calls they could make. To me it's always particularly evident when playing the dirtiest teams out there, like the Ducks. What's it going to take, an injury? Fact is, he should be drawing a lot more calls. Good read though.

 

[SK13]

Reason #1 is the Oilers are slow. Refs tend to call obvious trips and hooks more than anything else, and those plays happen because someone loses position. Connor McDavid should probably draw twice the penalties that he does, but he's still tied for 4th in the league in drawn penalties and the reason is he has the speed to bait out these kinds of mistakes.

Reason #2, and the most nefarious one across the league, is I suspect the NHLOA is a massive problem. We heard last year that the reason refs were reviewing their own bad calls on friggin' iPads was because the OA made it clear that they did not want any loss of autonomy for their refs. Surely, if the league were to do a big crackdown on officials going into business for themselves and chosing whether or not to enforce the rules, the OA would push back on that. This isn't an Oilers problem; NOBODY is happy with the state of officiating in the NHL right now.

Reason #3 are frustrating, annoying fans who say the words "put the whistle away" like that's ever a thing that should happen. This whole concept that the rules should not apply in more important games is a big part of the justification for why things are the way they are. The first period of the first preseason game should be officiated in exactly the same way that Game 7 Overtime in the Stanley Cup Finals should be officiated. If the refs screw up, that sucks, but they shouldn't get to try to alter the flow of the game trying to make that up. They're involving themselves more than they need to be.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

After the season is over, I hope someone compiles all the non-call muggings on McDavid this year and put them on youtube. It has to be seen to be believed and it is not oiler fans making things up.
I totally believe our standing would be different if the Oilers were given competent reffing.

 

[Mr Positive]

Being a slow team, it's not just that we don't draw calls. What might be happening is that our slower players are getting away with a lot of slow-down plays like hooks and holds, just to keep up, and refs make mental notes of that stuff and 'even it out' by letting the other team get away with slowing down McDavid.

And in general, the worse your team is, the more hooks and holds you have to do, just because you are the one chasing the puck, and I do think this season has been one where problems have snowballed in the wrong direction. Getting the ball rolling the other way might remove the perception of bias.

However, I do think that it is possible that there is real bias going on. Seeing that Vatrano hold on Drai so blatantly was troubling.