NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs III

[Lady Rhian]

There's a tinge of irony in the fact refs often let things go in playoff games because they want the players to decide the outcome, not themselves.
Yet here they made a massive call on a play they didn't see clearly, and it at had an enormous impact on the outcome.

I could be off base, but I wonder if the refs made the decision to call the penalty out of fear that the game could get out of hand, had they let it go or called a minor for cross checking, which would have been the right call. It's a sticky situation- you know that some of Pavs teammates would have gone after Eakin and even Statsny (Couture was having words with him and ready to take him out- you could see Couture's anger) every chance they got, had they not ousted him.

To be honest, I am somewhat torn on the call myself- by NHL standards, that is normally a 2 minute cross checking penalty, and you could also make the argument that it could have been a four minute due to drawing blood. Yet on the other hand, you have an angry team seeing their teammate on the ice, bleeding- they don't have access to a video to see what actually happened. Adrenaline rises and guys who would normally not lose their cool will suddenly try to harm the guy they think took out one of their best players. I think back to Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore incident- that didn't even happen in the same game that Naslund got a concussion from Moore- it was the next game, even Brad May said to the media there was a bounty on Moore's head, and look what happened- not only did Matt Cooke go after Moore until he fought him, then Bertuzzi damn near killed Moore on the ice- I'll never forget that for as long as I live . I am sure an incident like this is in the back of the refs minds when making such a call- it's definitely a tough spot to be in.

 

[Pia8988]

I could be off base, but I wonder if the refs made the decision to call the penalty out of fear that the game could get out of hand, had they let it go or called a minor for cross checking, which would have been the right call. It's a sticky situation- you know that some of Pavs teammates would have gone after Eakin and even Statsny (Couture was having words with him and ready to take him out- you could see Couture's anger) every chance they got, had they not ousted him.

To be honest, I am somewhat torn on the call myself- by NHL standards, that is normally a 2 minute cross checking penalty, and you could also make the argument that it could have been a four minute due to drawing blood. Yet on the other hand, you have an angry team seeing their teammate on the ice, bleeding- they don't have access to a video to see what actually happened. Adrenaline rises and guys who would normally not lose their cool will suddenly try to harm the guy they think took out one of their best players. I think back to Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore incident- that didn't even happen in the same game that Naslund got a concussion from Moore- it was the next game, even Brad May said to the media there was a bounty on Moore's head, and look what happened- not only did Matt Cooke go after Moore until he fought him, then Bertuzzi damn near killed Moore on the ice- I'll never forget that for as long as I live . I am sure an incident like this is in the back of the refs minds when making such a call- it's definitely a tough spot to be in.

Then you toss Couture. You don’t call a major.

 

[Johnnyduke]

The cross check didn't draw the blood. If he cross checked him in the face, different story. Justified 5 minute major.

 

[KrejciMVP]

Bad call for sure but that meltdown was very 2013 Leafs

 

[Trap Jesus]

Controversy aside, it's always cool to see a player up his game in crunch time, and I thought that was so obvious with Couture last night. He looked like an absolute madman that would not be denied.

 

[Johnnyduke]

A sad reminder that the Bruins took Hamill instead of him (or instead of any number of players taken after Hamill)

 

[Johnnyduke]

Couture actually has incredible playoff numbers for his career. 89 points in 103 career playoff games.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Not that I'm looking past Columbus by any means, but Washington losing tonight would put me over the moon. The Bruins could sweep Columbus and I would still never pick them over Washington in a series.

 

[ODAAT]

Not that I'm looking past Columbus by any means, but Washington losing tonight would put me over the moon. The Bruins could sweep Columbus and I would still never pick them over Washington in a series.

I`m always puzzled how other teams often make Holtby look pedestrian and the B`s make him look like a 10 time defending Vezina winner?

I think the Caps roll the Canes tonight but the loss of Oshi will be huge at some point

 

[TCB]

 

[NMF]

The NHL should just change all of officiating. Not sure I have a great solution, but you really can’t argue that collectively they’re even competent.

The officiating in the NHL is only going to get worse unfortunately. They are taking former players who have no idea what they are doing and turning them into refs. The players dont even know how to conduct a simple line change, or conduct a simple face-off. Meanwhile officials who are selected for the olympics and finals of world championships are passed over. Sadly politics is in all facets of hockey, even the highest levels. The poor officiating will only continue to get worse, until the NHL officiating office hires the best officials. Currently they are not.

 

[ODAAT]

tell us how ya really feel Jonathan

 

[DKH]

Bruins cofavorites in Vegas to win Cup

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

tell us how ya really feel Jonathan

Give me this over the cookie cutter responses every time. If I am a Knights fan, I want to know losing this game bothered the players as much as it bothered me.

 

[ODAAT]

Give me this over the cookie cutter responses every time. If I am a Knights fan, I want to know losing this game bothered the players as much as it bothered me.

agreed, how about being angry too at the PK players? That was awful

 

[Johnnyduke]

Bruins cofavorites in Vegas to win Cup

Kiss of death!

 

[DKH]

Kiss of death!

Caps win tonight they jump them

 

[Lady Rhian]

Give me this over the cookie cutter responses every time. If I am a Knights fan, I want to know losing this game bothered the players as much as it bothered me.

Agree- at least he showed passion for losing. I am sure deep down Jonathan and his teammates know that they also blew it by not killing off most of that penalty. 4 goals in one five minute penalty- it's now a playoff record, I read this morning. It's been done twice in the regular season, the 4 goals in one 5 minute penalty, but this is the first time in the playoffs. LVGK has to live with that statistic. They even tied the game and went into OT, but the Sharks wanted it more.

 

[LSCII]

Regardless of a bad call or not, the Knights still gave up 4 freaking goals on that PP. You had a 3 goal lead, FFS. Play some defense and move on. Instead they crapped the bed and lost their minds over the call. Even then, you still tied it and went to OT and had chances to win. So it's not like they couldn't have recovered from that bad call.

This is on par with the Saints game, but not like Marchessault thinks. It was on par with that game because the Knight still had the ability to win the game, they simply lost their composure and gagged hard.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

tell us how ya really feel Jonathan

I can't disagree with most of what he's saying. yeah he should probably admit that their PK failed them in the end, but he still has a right to be pissed and I 100% agree they need some kind of video review for penalty calls. I'm not sure how to implement it, but when you have a centralized video review team in Toronto that can easily see if a call on the ice is warranted & your rulebook doesn't allow you to use that infrastructure to get calls right in big games then it's a huge flaw in the system.

 

[JRull86]

I can't disagree with most of what he's saying. yeah he should probably admit that their PK failed them in the end, but he still has a right to be pissed and I 100% agree they need some kind of video review for penalty calls. I'm not sure how to implement it, but when you have a centralized video review team in Toronto that can easily see if a call on the ice is warranted & your rulebook doesn't allow you to use that infrastructure to get calls right in big games then it's a huge flaw in the system.

Major penalties, especially game misconducts, should absolutely be reviewable from Toronto.

I doubt that ends up as 5/10/game last night if they had that ability.

 

[Therick67]

Agree- at least he showed passion for losing. I am sure deep down Jonathan and his teammates know that they also blew it by not killing off most of that penalty. 4 goals in one five minute penalty- it's now a playoff record, I read this morning. It's been done twice in the regular season, the 4 goals in one 5 minute penalty, but this is the first time in the playoffs. LVGK has to live with that statistic. They even tied the game and went into OT, but the Sharks wanted it more.

They were up 3-1 in the series. Yes, the call was bad - but they certainly did plenty to lose it as well.

 

[LSCII]

Even if they reviewed the play and reversed the major, it was going to be a 2 minute cross check at the least, and quite possibly a 4 minute double for drawing blood. So yes it was a bad call, but human error happens and it's up to the team to respond. In this case, Vegas responded, but did so poorly.

 

[LSCII]

They were up 3-1 in the series. Yes, the call was bad - but they certainly did plenty to lose it as well.

This is where I'm at as well. Bad call yes, but certainly something they could have recovered from/weathered better.

 

[Lady Rhian]

Then you toss Couture. You don’t call a major.

Who said otherwise?

I was only looking at it from a refs perspective, not mine as a fan of the Bruins and a fan of the game. WE had the benefit of seeing the replays, the refs did not. It was a judgment call made by how the scene looked. I have said in my post above, it was a 2 minute cross checking penalty only. It's easy for us to judge from our seats and replays, which in cases like this, the refs are at a grave disadvantage, not being able to view these type of plays. No matter what, no one is happy. Sharks fans were throwing trash down on the ice while their Captain was lying bleeding on the ice- if the refs really wanted to be jerks, they could have called a 2 minute delay of game on the fans, too, and would have been within their rights. Again, this situation made no one happy at the time it happened. Sharks took advantage and won the game eventually because of it. Would the Sharks have lost last night without that advantage? We'll never know, but I believe in my heart, that they would have. I do feel a smidge bad for the LVGK's fans, but their team also has to be held accountable- they let 4 goals be scored against them in five minutes time!