This is my sixth attempt to write this… the five previous I have sent into the ether as too crazy, to biased, too… everything… so… let’s get this started here…
"We need to give a refresher to the officials, take a good look, a quick look, but don't search it to death."
- Gary Bettman
Let’s continue with this… The situation room did not cost the Nashville Predators any points last night.
The Preds should never have allowed themselves to be in the position they were in with four minutes to go in the game. Their maddening habit of playing down to their opponent for significant stretches is to blame for last night’s 2-1 loss to a desperate Florida Panthers team trying to stay in the playoff race.
The Preds effort last night was inconsistent, their play only fair. Oh… and Roberto Luongo was on his head. It’s probably the best way to sum up last night. No clinching (except in the situation room) last night and the race tightens a bit.
So let’s go here…
The Predators scored twice in the final four minutes of regulation last night. Roman Josi drove home the first with a “refuse to be denied” power move to shake the Preds from their slumber and halve the lead. The Predators then began to play their game, controlling play and pressuring the Panthers at every turn.
Then a final desperate surge. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Nashville wins a crucial faceoff, drives the net… a scramble ensues, Viktor Arvidsson pokes free a loose puck from between Luongo’s pads and Filip Forsberg taps home the winner with .6 seconds left.
And there was much rejoicing! Untill…
The situation room in Toronto intervened and overturned the call, wiping the goal off the board and giving Florida the win.
“The presumption should be that the call on the ice was good, unless you have a good reason to overturn it. You shouldn’t have to search to overturn it.”
- Gary Bettman
In what still looks to me as an incredibly horrid call… the situation room in Toronto decided that this was goaltender interference…
Isn’t it interesting to hear the Florida announcers on this clip… they know that there was no reason to overturn that goal and they were shocked when it was… look at the surprise on the face of the Panthers players.
The official explanation? The NHL says this… "the deliberate actions of (Viktor) Arvidsson's stick caused (Roberto) Luongo to spin and cause the covered puck to come loose prior to the goal."
Hmmm… nothing about Luongo initiating contact, nothing about the puck being loose between the goaltender’s pads, nothing about Keith Yandle pushing Arvidsson into the goalie… according to our friends in the situation room in Toronto… it was the magic poking stick that caused a 5 degree turn in the goaltender. (Sarcasm /off)
So… let me see if I have this right. We no longer want any kind of excitement at the net… no one is allowed to poke at a loose puck that is anywhere close to a goaltender, because after all… the poor goaltenders are wilting flowers that will collapse if you breathe too hard on them.
Hmmm… I wonder what the intention was when the decision was made to give the situation room the final say… I wonder if there is any guidance there from a credible authority… y’know… maybe someone that is in charge of the entire league?
“The presumption should be that the call on the ice was good, unless you have a good reason to overturn it. You shouldn’t have to search to overturn it.”
- Gary Bettman
Ohhhhh… there’s the guidance!
If I am the commissioner… I am livid after that call, it is in complete opposition to the public statements and guidance given to the situation room by Gary Bettman… and instead of clarifying the expectations, the situation room is muddying the waters.
The controversy continues this morning with an NBC analyst weighing in on Sirius/XM/s NHL Network Radio…
"If that's gonna be the standard when we get to the playoffs, there are gonna be a lot of long nights. We're gonna have problems. Just watch."
- Pierre McGuire
He is spot on here…
To sum up… there is not a reasonable rationale to overturn that call given the guidance from the league commissioner… period. The situation room violated the spirit and the intent of the adjustment in the review rules and should be held accountable for it.
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“Where We Stand” update… a daily tracking of where the Preds are in the standings and the games that impact them most, brought to you by Mark Lonsway - THE real estate professional for hockey fans!
After last night’s play the Predators remain first in the Central Division and the Western Conference with 113 points, leading Winnipeg by three points in the Central and Western Conference races … The Predators lead Boston in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy by three points, the Bruins do have a game in hand on Nashville, Tampa is also three points back but only has two games left.
Impact games tonight (all times Central) – 7pm – CHI @ STL. 9pm – MIN @ ANA.
Playoff seed chances - The Predators chances of top seed in the West stands at 90%, their chances at the President’s Trophy are at 65.5%
The Current Opponent - If the playoffs began today, the Predators would draw the number 8 seed in the second wild card position… currently the Colorado Avalanche.
Most likely first round opponent - The highest percentage goes to St. Louis @ 37.1%, then Colorado at 36.7%.
Teams that have punched their playoff ticket - Nashville, Tampa Bay, Boston, Winnipeg, Vegas, Washington, Toronto, Pittsburgh, San Jose and Minnesota. Vegas has clinched the Pacific and Washington has clinched the Metropolitan
Playoff odds and playoff point line courtesy of SportsClubStats.com
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Random Notes
- The Preds Magic Number for the Central Division crown remains 2… for the President’s Trophy it is now 4. The Predators still control their own destiny, but the race is tightening.
- Heckuva goaltending duel between Luongo and Rinne last night.
- The Preds final road game of the regular season is tomorrow night in DC.
- Next one to be eliminated… with only two teams remaining outside of the playoff mix, the Florida Panthers stayed alive last night but they got very little help, they are 4 points behind Philadelphia and their tragic number is now 3. The other team? The St. Louis Blues remain a point behind Colorado, their tragic number remains 5.
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