Poor Officiating Ruins Playoff Spirit
Jesse Marshall | National Hockey League
May 16, 12:36 PM | Hype this story!
This article isn’t about the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers, or the Detroit Red Wings. It isn’t about fan bias or loyalty. It isn’t about sour grapes or taunting.
It’s about the integrity of the game we all know and love and the stranglehold the officiating has on it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when done correctly, the game of hockey is a beautiful thing.
Momentum, flow, speed, grit and power are all words used to describe a game that’s also known as poetry on ice.
However, this year, the referee’s have found a way to ruin virtually every adjective I just stated.
Last night, the Penguins and Flyers faced off in a game 4 match-up where the tempo, just like in game 3, was ruined from the start of the game.
There was no flow. There was no momentum. There was no excitement, just a constant parade to the penalty box and a few head-scratching moments that left even the most educated of fans clueless as to what happened on the ice. About as clueless as Hossa and Hatcher were on Tuesday night when they both departed to the box for hooking after hardly making any contact with their opponents whatsoever. Then, later in the game, when the hooking was actually occuring, no call was made because “the whistles were in the pockets”.
Example: When was the last time you saw a player head to the box for clipping?
The fact of the matter is the hit that Letang made to garner a “clipping” call (a call described as a blatant attempt to hit a player below the knees) was a hit that I’d show to young children learning about the game.
“Here, this is how you make a clean hip check”.
“Unless you’re in the NHL, then forget it. Just don’t touch anyone”.
Sometimes avoiding contact with another player isn’t even enough. Look at what happened to the Detroit Red Wings two nights ago.
Kelly Sutherland, NHL ref extraordinaire, called Tomas Holmstrom for goaltender interference because his rearend was supposedly in the crease, prohibiting Marty Turco from making a save.
When, in fact, Holmstrom hadn’t touched goaltender Marty Turco, and was clearly not impeding his ability to make a save of any kind. It’s called screening the goaltender.
“The guy’s out of the paint. That’s a reputation call totally,” steamed Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. “It’s disappointing. But the way I look at it is this: There’s lots that goes on on the ice. Some things go wrong and you miss it. Just don’t make stuff up, that’s all.”
Babcock says the officiating is lopsided because coaches are allowed to prep the ref’s before each match.
“They (opponents) prepare the referees,” Babcock said. “So they tell them about guys so that they’re watching for stuff. Well, watch for it, but it’s got to happen. You can’t dream it up.”
Detroit Captain Nick Lidstrom was mystified by Sutherland’s explanation of the call.
“The referees said his skates were outside the crease but his rear end was in the blue area,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “That’s a call I’ve never heard of.”
Fast forward to last night: Daniel Briere charges into the crease and makes clear contact with Marc-Andre Fleury before tapping the puck into the net.
Holmstrom gets called for goaltender interference without touching the goaltender. Daniel Briere plows into him with no call.
Where’s the standard of officiating? What precendent has been set?
The bottom line is this: NHL referees are what’s ruining the sport.
If the NHL wants to garner “new fans”, perhaps they should revamp their standard of officiating.
How are “new fans” going to understand and already slightly complicated game when the ref’s are making up penalties 50% of the time?
We’ve seen some good hockey in the playoffs this year.
Dear NHL, stop ruining it for us before it’s too late.
Comments
Mike Adams
May 16, 01:00 PM
Jesse, I couldn’t agree more. The officiating in this year’s playoffs has been just brutal. First period, call every little ticky-tack penalty. Second and third periods, call nothing, even blatant trips, hooks, and holds. And each individual ref’s interpretation of goalie interference is just mystifying. You’re darn right Briere should have been called last night, especially in light of the Holmstrom debacle. It has gotten to the point that I’m sure even the players have no idea what’s going to be called. And all it does is take away from the game.
Ashley Gallant
May 16, 02:36 PM
I agree as well. All I’d like to see is a little consistency, otherwise nobody knows that the heck is going on.
What really got me about the Holmstrom story was that the refs allowed a goal earlier in the series (game 1?) when he was so deep in the crease that he was virtually on top of Turco, and yet they disallow a goal because his rear end was in the blue paint?
I guess the NHL doesn’t like big butts.
Dan Illson
May 16, 03:13 PM
The Briere situation last night was an absolute mystery to me. Regardless of whether the situation warranted a two minute minor for interference (in my eyes it did), the NHL rule clearly states that if an opposing player enters the blue paint and infringes on the goaltender’s opportunity to make a save, no goal can be scored. Even if you’re not gonna give him the 2 minutes, at the very least you have to wipe out that goal. Especially considering the blown Holmstrom call from the night before.
Maybe one of these days Steven Walcom can come out and give us an explanation of what all these rules “actually” mean.
DAVID
May 16, 03:23 PM
The NHL is trying to find the balance between being a real sport and entertainment. Due to the poor Television contracts, the NHL appears to be “influencing” the games to maximize Television coverage. The example of the Holmstrom “interference” or last night’s Pitt-Philly game showed blatant calls against the teams that potentially could sweep the series and prevent the NBC coverage over the week-end.
Had Detroit or Pittsburgh successfully swept the series, no national coverage in the US would precede the Stanley Cup Final. NBC only picked up the 2nd week-end (games 5) of both series, and the US markets would have been blacked out for the whole Eastern and Western Finals save for those who have Versus. The NHL needed these series!
Having watched both seres, the calls in the first, and partially into the second seemed to create the opportunities for Dallas and Philly to establish themselves in these games, and once established, the Ref’s put their whistles away and basically left it up Detroit and Pittsburgh to overcome these deficits. While both teams showed their resiliency, they were not able to close them out, and the NHL now gets their Game 5 national coverage.
DaBich
May 16, 03:52 PM
David ~ I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I told my hubby BEFORE the game started, that we already lost. At his confused expression, I told him that NBC has the weekend game, and they need the air time. So, we have to lose to play Sunday.
Others have told me I’m nuts. OK, so I’m nuts, but I’m still sure I’m right!
Matt Bodenschatz
May 16, 04:19 PM
Dabich, I’ve got a question, then. In another comment you mentioned that the Penguins had a bad game, which they did. So, if they had a bad game, wouldn’t that be the logical reason the game was lost — not some conspiracy theory?
I know you like your theories — but I have a hard time believing the NHL is “rigging” games simply to get TV time. And this is coming from someone who seriously doubts NHL managements’ ability to run a professional league.
Matt Bodenschatz
May 16, 05:01 PM
“Whether there is an actual conspiracy or human nature of the officials … has just lead to it, one can’t help but think that calls are not being made in a consistent manner to favor (or not) a certain team.”
Stoopidful, despite your name you come across as very intelligent in the hockey realm — especially considering your newbie status. We’re thrilled to have you here.
Anyway, regarding the portion I quoted, I think what we are seeing is just plain stupidity and incompetence. NHL league officials aren’t smart enough to rig games, just as they aren’t smart enough to hire and regulate consistent and skilled on ice officials.
Think of it this way. In the NHL, we have seen what happens when “cheating” comes into play in a professional sport — the government gets involved and legal actions potentially are taken. If there was any legitimate suspicion of tampering, believe me, there would be a much, much, much larger roar through the media right now, and possibly even investigations.
If the NHL truly wanted to determine the champions, don’t you think we would have seen it in the past? Why have Carolina and Tampa Bay win the Cup? Why allow the only remaining Canadian team (Montreal) to be eliminated so easily this year? Why allow the Flyers to beat the Capitals this year?
Conspiracy theories are fun to think of, but this one really doesn’t have any merit other than good old incompetence.
Matt Bodenschatz
May 16, 05:31 PM
Hey, whatever floats your boat. But listen, stick around — I am looking forward to hearing more from you!
Julian
May 16, 06:33 PM
Wow. Really good article, and very true. Officiating has been absolutely atrocious.
DaBich
May 16, 09:21 PM
:)
DAVID
May 16, 10:38 PM
I don’t think it is so much a dispute as it is an evaluation of both the state of officiating as well as the state of the league. These “conspiracy theories” as Matt describes, are the fans efforts to rationalize the blatantly bad officiating, the leagues acceptance of this, and the ineffectiveness in marketing one of the greatest games.
I was not suggesting a grand conspiracy that was coordinated behind closed doors in the deep dead of the night, but more to the point that Stoopidful stated on the “human nature” of the league to lean towards (and overlook) calls that would advance the “entertainment value,” and therefore the fan acceptance.
What these officials, if they are doing this, seem to be missing, is that the hockey enthusiasts (like those on this and many other boards) are growing more and more cynical to the nature of these calls. The existing fan base is key to advancing the word of mouth acceptance of the game.
I, like many others, seem to see a trend that suggests that, while it may or may not be some conspiracy, violates the integrity of the game. There needs to be a more effective means of review, oversight, and responsiveness from the officials (and the league) if the league wants to be taken more seriously.
The fans deserve it. The players deserve it. The game deserves it.
(even some of the owners deserve it) :)
indedark
Jun 3, 04:17 PM
I am a Canadian. I have played and coached hockey. I will admit that I am a Detroit fan. I am horrified at the officiating in the playoffs this year.
Game 5 of the final saw three really questionable calls, on the heels of blatant non-calls. Two penalties against for goaltender interference. No goals scored on the part of the Pens, however the flow of Detroit’s game was severed. Then the hooking call against Kennedy of the Pens, resulting in Detroit’s goal. All of these penalies came directly after perfect examples of boarding by both teams. And I won’t even discuss the butt-interference call against Holmstrom.
I do not believe in any grand conspiracy on the part of the league and the officials. I do believe however, that incompetence is rampant in the league, from the commissioner all the way down to the on-ice officials.
I do believe that the coaching staff influences a lot of the officiating before every game. It’s a practice that shouldn’t be allowed. They get the opportunity to ‘coach’ the referees about the play of certain players on the opposing team as well as air concerns they have about calls going against them. There is very little accountability for the on-ice officials during the game. I believe that this should be changed. With the multitude of video angles from the broadcast of the games that are available, there should be an official that can intervene immediately on a call made by the referees. They do this video review for goals, and I believe it’s a perfect tool to resolve any other calls made by the referees. Admittedly, they are human and make mistakes, and I will agree that when things happen at the speed that this game is played at, things can look different when looked at first person. Why not take advantage of the technology that is there.
I don’t want to discuss the semantics of any perceived theories about the league trying to influence the game. If it is there, we have to deal with it. I think that this isn’t happening; in the long run it’s a disservice to the game, the players, the fans. They would eventually be found out. It’s illegal and irresponsible.
That’s my rant. LOL!
Matt Bodenschatz
Jun 3, 04:44 PM
InDeDark, great points! Thanks for your input!
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