Be it resolved that the NHL become the first pro sports league to stop allowing the tail of technology to wag the dog of competition and stop the madness of interminable video reviews. They just as often create more questions than answers.
It is not that difficult. Really it isn’t.
All that is necessary is for commissioner Gary Bettman to instruct his minions to amend the coach’s challenge rule. Limit reviews to 30 seconds on offside and goaltender interference reviews. That would confirm the original intent of the rule to reverse obviously incorrect calls.
The micro-meter inspection of offside is insane. Worse, everyone in authority knows it but refuses to act. The extended review of goaltender interference yields no clarity as one subjective opinion is merely layered onto another without any guarantee the final call will correct an original error in judgement.
On offside, the obvious mistakes would be easily corrected. Leon Stickle’s name would no longer live in infamy in Philadelphia after missing the blatant offside immediately preceding the Duane Sutter first-period goal that gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead in their Game 6, Cup-clinching 5-4 overtime victory in 1980. Five seconds, if that, is all it would have taken.
Goaltender interference — the issue that flared again this week when an apparent Edmonton overtime winner was negated because of a ruled Connor McDavid infraction a few days after Auston Matthews had one taken off the board — is a different animal. There is no objective standard applied to the call from one set of eyes to another, even as the topic was addressed at the Board of Governors meeting in Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Perhaps the most egregious blown call in recent history came in Game 2 of the 2014 finals when Dan O’Halloran refused to cite Dwight King for knocking down/interfering with Henrik Lundqvist on the Kings’ goal that brought the team within 4-3 in an eventual 5-4 double-overtime victory.
But a few weeks later, O’Halloran told a Rangers official that after having the chance to review video of the incident, he stuck by his call that the puck was already in the net when Lundqvist went down. So, even if it existed at the time, a coach’s challenge would have done the Blueshirts no good in that case.
The NHL, like all leagues, has allowed itself to be seduced by the false promise of video review. It is time for Bettman to put an end to it, time to take control of the issue.
Time for the NHL to step out on this issue.
Time for a time limit.
Disappointing and unacceptable to see Doug Weight go the unprofessional route in unilaterally deciding that it’s just too much trouble for him to provide updates on injured players.
And it would be even more disappointing and unacceptable if the Islanders’ hierarchy doesn’t intercede with the generally accommodating coach and suggest that it’s the least he could do.
Maybe it isn’t quite the royal Joe DiMaggio-Mickey Mantle-Bobby Murcer-Mickey Rivers-Bernie Williams center field lineage in The Bronx, but the Rangers’ goaltending tree is pretty darn impressive for a franchise that has won the Cup once since 1940.
Not necessarily contiguous, the Blueshirts present: Dave Kerr, Jim Henry, Chuck Rayner, Gump Worsley, Ed Giacomin, John Davidson, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter, Lundqvist (with dollops of Johnny Bower, Jacques Plante, Bob Froese, Cesare Maniago and Mike Dunham).
The Montreal lineage is, of course, unparalleled, featuring: Bill Durnan, Plante, Worsley, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy and Carey Price (with interludes for the likes of Charlie Hodge, Denis Herron, Michel “Bunny” Larocque, Richard Sevigny, Steve Penney, Jocelyn Thibault and Jose Theodore).
Allowing for the Eric Fichaud Era, the Islanders stack up pretty well, with Chico Resch, Billy Smith, Rollie Melanson, Kelly Hrudey, Glenn Healy, Chris Osgood, Roberto Luongo, Rick DiPietro, Dwayne Roloson, Evgeni Nabokov and Jaroslav Halak.
The Blackhawks, from Glenn Hal l to Tony Esposito to Ed Belfour to Corey Crawford (not to mention Dominik Hasek, though we just did).
The Flyers, from Doug Favell to Bernie Parent to Pelle Lindbergh to Froese to Ron Hextall to Vanbiesbrouck to, uh, ah, um…
And, of course the Devils, short and sweet with a Resch-Sean Burke-Chris Terreri-Martin Brodeur-Cory Schneider family tree.
Has there ever been a greater (and more counterintuitive) example of addition by subtraction than the Avalanche trading Matt Duchene? And has there ever been a group so anxious to talk about its benefits?
All-Star Snapshot — Elite Eight: 1. Tampa Bay; 2. Winnipeg; 3. Vegas; 4. Boston; 5. Nashville; 6. Toronto; 7. Washington; 8. St. Louis.
Biggest Disappointments: 1. Chicago; 2. Florida; 3. Edmonton; 4. Ottawa; 5. Minnesota.
You do realize that the Panthers have advanced in the playoffs one time in their history. They reached the 1996 finals in the third year of their history when allowed to obstruct their way to a second-round victory over the Eric Lindros Flyers and a third-round victory over the Mario Lemieux-Jaromir Jagr Penguins.
Hey, maybe it wasn’t entirely Sutter’s fault in Los Angeles, after all.
So, if the Maple Leafs have their choice of John Tavares or Ryan McDonagh in a deadline trade, which way, Lou?
Which was the more egregious blunder: The Capitals choosing defenseman Darren Veitch fifth overall in 1980 while Paul Coffey went next to Edmonton or the Sabres going with right wing Ric Seiling 14th overall in 1977 while Mike Bossy went next to the Islanders?
Oh, and can we please eliminate the iPads on the benches, too?
Finally, this narrative being offered that the Rangers are playing well defensively except for a few key mistakes at key times reminds me that I was an A student in Physics at Bronx Science except for the C’s on the mid-term and final exams.