Paul Stewart: Playoff OT Penalties and Officiating Human Error: Nowhere to Hide

Fair enough. I like your take on the call. After reading your blogs I am sure the calls in that game were reviewed. I just hope someone forcefully pointed out that 'positioning sells calls' to the crew working tonights game. I took the day off of work tomorrow just to watch it. I don't want that 'we got robbed' sinking feeling tomorrow!

I think methot throwing haymakers that night uncalled, followed by this being called is why there is outrage.

Good blog as always. You mentioned three times GET THE RIGHT CALL.

What is the right call? I find the calls in the first period are far differant then the third period. You almost have to kill someone to get a penalty in the last 5 minutes of the third period, even worse to get one in overtime. So much, tripping,slashing,hooking etc etc seems to go unnoticed all of a sudden

Are you saying the right call is looking at a play and instantly saying to yourself, hmm ok that was a penalty but hey not a real bad one so I will not blow the whistle as opposed to making a bad call by calling a penalty because an infraction did indeed take place.

By letting an infraction go uncalled are you not just as instrumental in dictating the score as by calling a penalty? If there is indeed a trip or hook that took place, all the camera angles show it so the ref should be in the clear for calling the penalty, as opposed to all the camera's and people watching on tv see a player get tripped or high sticked etc, no penalty called and the other team scores a goal on the shift when in fact the goal would not have been scored had a penalty been called.

I guess, I am not sure why the ref feels it better to let things go then to call the penalty as both contribute to the game.

A very good article, as usual.

The one thought I have here is that as much as we don't want a wrong/disputed/missed call to directly affect the outcome of a game... if a team plays better during the game, so that they're leading by 2-3 goals, instead of tied in OT, then the call in question either doesn't happen at all or doesn't affect them as much.

As a Flyers fan, I recall what might be the paradigm of SC Playoffs officiating mistakes... the Leon Stickle fiasco in the 1980 SCF. The thing is - as badly as that call was missed, and as much as it hurt the Flyers - if you're not down 3-2 in the series at that point, it likely doesn't hurt nearly as much.

I like the announcer calling for matching. Players get punched and crosschecked all day in the playoffs and it isn't called. now they want a love tap to the jaw to draw one after a guy got elbowed to the head. sorry don't work that way. Maybe 2 months ago it would have but not in May

Paul - Stop with the "be in position and you can make the right call'. Who are you fooling, the dumb fans that Bettman is selling this crap product to? Just tell the truth, there is a game played between the refs and some teams. The inconsistency in calling games cannot be by chance.

"Just tell the truth, there is a game played between the refs and some teams. The inconsistency in calling games cannot be by chance."

This is so blatant that I can't believe it largely gets ignored.

Also, the situational calls are beyond absurd. It's as if the refs look at the scoreboard before determining if a penalty should called. And you can't tell me that they are not keeping track of how many power plays each team gets.

In last night's Pens game. there were a couple of holding calls, but the Horny gets cross-checked into the net and eats the crossbar and the call was... NOTHING.

I also love the even up call when a punch is thrown into the hapless victims face and guess what, they both get sent off.

Maybe the goal for the refs should be Get ONE call right?

And you miss enough calls in the playoffs, including not calling a penalty on a hit that generates a 25 game suspension (Torres on Hossa), the NHL makes you Director of Officiating.

Congratulations Stephen Walkom!

Anyone watching the officiating debacle in OT of bos/ott? Goal taken off the board, pageau sitting on the puck in the crease, neither go the bruins way, CANT MAKE THIS UP!

Paul can you please explain the rule on hip checks. It wasn't long ago it was a good solid check but in the last few years it seems like refs are calling them as penalties. The hip check by Kadri last night against Ovi even in slow mo looked perfectly clean but a penalty was called.

Why don't they just come out and say hip checks are no longer allowed.

After Wideman put a knee into Krejci and Pageau got away with his hand on the puck I'm beginning to agree with the conspiracy theory crowd. The NHL has chosen Ottawa to win and the refs are looking the other way.

No way that hit on Krejci doesn't deserve a penalty.
(Pageau maybe gets a pass because he could have swatted the puck instead of closing his hand.)

I thought 2 refs were supposed to help but it seems like the ref furthest from the play is often making the call? The only thing I think the 2 ref system has helped is stopping some of the behind the play slashes etc.
One problem is how fast the refs are supposed to react. There ought to be a 3-5 second window for making the call, just to let the ref process what happened.

After Wideman put a knee into Krejci and Pageau got away with his hand on the puck I'm beginning to agree with the conspiracy theory crowd. The NHL has chosen Ottawa to win and the refs are looking the other way.

No way that hit on Krejci doesn't deserve a penalty.
(Pageau maybe gets a pass because he could have swatted the puck instead of closing his hand.)

I thought 2 refs were supposed to help but it seems like the ref furthest from the play is often making the call? The only thing I think the 2 ref system has helped is stopping some of the behind the play slashes etc.
One problem is how fast the refs are supposed to react. There ought to be a 3-5 second window for making the call, just to let the ref process what happened.
- OrrFour

While I don't buy into the conspiracy theory, I would like to make a change wrt the ref farthest from the play making a call. For fouls committed during play (not during stoppages), I would like to have one of the following happen:

1. Each ref is assigned one offensive zone. Each ref can only call a penalty in that zone or the neutral zone.
2. Each ref is assigned an offensive zone. Each ref can call a penalty anywhere on the ice. However, if a ref calls a penalty in the offensive zone he was not assigned to, he can be overruled by the other ref.

If a ref standing 10 feet away thinks that no penalty occurred, the ref standing 80 feet away may see it differently, but not as closely.