NHL

Is Officiating In the NHL In Need Of Evaluation?

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By @LissaRantSports

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

I have skirted this issue in the past little while, but after Thursday night’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks, it’s time to visit it in depth.

The incident in this game happened eight minutes into the second period, when Montreal’s Alexei Emelin, skating down the ice with the puck, made a pass, but was blindsided by Alexandre Burrows of the Canucks. Emelin went down hard and the hit was questionable at best, illegal at worst. It was, for all intents and purposes, a headshot. The linesman, standing right in front of the two players, did not whistle the play dead, and it resulted in the first goal against the Habs. It’s even been said that because it was also a late hit, a penalty shot should have resulted, and the goal discounted.

In fact, Rule 32.4 clearly states:

Should a Linesman witness a foul (above) committed by an attacking player or goalkeeper (undetected by the Referees) prior to the attacking team scoring a goal, the Linesman shall report what he witnessed to the Referees, the goal shall be disallowed and the appropriate penalty assessed.

This rule should have been enforced. The linesman was directly in front of the incident. Emelin reeled and fell to the ice, and was clearly hurt. He left the game and came back in the third period. Friday morning brought the news that Burrows would have a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety, with the issues of interference and illegal check to the head being considered. The news that Burrows received a three-game suspension is small consolation to Habs fans, who would like to have seen the proper call made on the ice.

It’s bad enough that a blatant hit like that one went uncalled. It added insult to injury when it resulted in a goal. As Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said, “Instead of having a penalty for five minutes, the puck is in your own end.” Of course, there’s no guarantee the goal would not have happened anyway, however, the direction of the game would have been changed had Burrows sat for the five-minute penalty. In any case, fans – and clearly the coach – would have felt the right course of action had been taken and the question of referee-affected goal would not even be voiced today.

Later in the same game – during overtime – Canadiens defenseman, Tom Gilbert, was called for interference and sent to the penalty box for two minutes. This was the right call, but it was a frustrating penalty in what could have been the comeback win Habs fans hoped for. However, during that Canucks powerplay, two Canucks players committed the same minor infraction on two different Habs players, both of which went uncalled by referees. The result was an OT goal to win the game for Vancouver and frustration for Habs fans.

Do I believe in the conspiracy theories? “Referees HATE the Habs!” “Referees favor the (fill in the team of your choice)!”

I don’t. I just believe there has to be better evaluation of officiating, better and more consistent standards, and the ability for coaches to challenge calls within reason.

How often do we hear that referees were responsible for the outcomes of games? If you’re on social media, you’ll see that charge at least once a night, numerous times in a game. As I’ve said in previous articles, I think that blaming the referees for the outcome of a game – when it is the goal scorers who end up changing the scoreboard, after all – is unproductive and, at times, inaccurate. But there are times such as the Burrows case – where there is no doubt of an illegal hit, where the referee doesn’t call it, and where the outcome might just have been affected by that non-call – that make it hard for me not to direct my anger at the referees.

Perhaps the NHL Officials Association should institute a training and evaluation protocol. It might go a long way toward improving the reputations of referees, and an even longer way toward improving the fairness and consistency of infractions on the ice.

Lissa Albert is a Montreal Canadiens writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @LissaRantSports. “Like” her on Facebook and/or add her to your network on Google. 

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