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I chuckled this morning when I read an article by a glorified cheerleader --- sorry, I mean, detached and impartial member of the media -- basically claiming that "the referees" have had it on for the poor New York Rangers in their series with the Washington Capitals, including in Game Six.
The Rangers victory in Game Six to force a seventh and deciding game at Madison Square Garden after trailing 3-1 in the series at one point was apparently less important than two calls made during the course of a game where the Caps had all of four power plays to three for New York. And never mind the fact that the opponent had come out on the unfavorable end of a tough judgment call on a disallowed goal the previous game -- one in which New York tied it up late and won in OT.
I mean, why ruin a good conspiracy theory with balance and facts.
In terms of the puck-over-the-glass delay of game penalty on James Sheppard in the defensive zone, there was uncertainty as whether the puck hit the glass and went over cleanly. The linesman who had the best sightline on the play apparently was certain the puck went straight over the glass while the other officials did not have as good of a look on the play. The officiating team deferred to the linesman's judgment on this basis.
Unfortunately, replays showed the puck probably did skim off the glass and then deflected out of play. Clearly, this missed call merits executing the officials in the village green. We'll schedule it right after the one we have slated for the next defenseman who turns over the puck with room for an outlet pass, the next goalie who gets beaten on a unscreened shot and the net forward who shoots wide with an empty net staring at him.
Mistakes happen in hockey, and you have to play through them. That includes mistakes by officials. It includes a mistake by a defender in getting a little too much air under the puck and praying it doesn't fly straight over the glass. The Rangers did just that and killed off the penalty, to their credit.
Honestly, the bigger issue here is that the "automatic" delay of game penalty for a defender shooting the puck out of play from the defensive zone -- and addendum to an older rule penalizing goalies for such an offense -- is another case of the NHL legislating itself in a bind. It used to be that officials had discretion to judge whether the puck was intentionally shot out to relieve pressure and/or get a line change with a stoppage of play.
That judgment was taken away and replaced with a slew of needless, garbage penalties at inopportune times. "Hey, did you see if the puck skimmed the glass?" debates suddenly become more important than "Did the player actually do something that MERITS a delay of game penalty?
Under the old rules, last night's situation would have been a non-issue. It was clearly accidental. Faceoff left circle and be done with it. Nope, we've "improved" the rule book to make it "foolproof" and yet there are still pitfalls aplenty.
The other controversial call -- actually a non-call -- in Game Six was whether Alex Ovechkin charged or boarded Ryan McDonagh. I didn't have a problem with that particular hit, but McDonagh was briefly shaken up on the play. It did not look like a penalty to me. It also had no bearing on the outcome.
My critics say I overstate the impact of officials, yet it the age old loser's lament that it was all the officials' fault and, even in victory, some folks can't help but see officiating conspiracies to hold their team down. As someone who has seen and heard it all before, I just chuckle. Some things truly will never change.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.