Montreal Canadiens Shine Light On NHL’s Officiating Problem, But Don’t Expect a Quick Fix
The Montreal Canadiens shone a light on the NHL’s officiating problem on Saturday night. It is a deep rooted systemic issue and don’t expect it to change any time soon.
The Montreal Canadiens lost their fourth straight game on Saturday night. They crawled their way back to the fringes of the playoff race last Saturday with an overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. What followed were regulation time losses to the Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and then an overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.
It all but ended their season with the playoffs now a mathematical improbability, but realistically it is impossible for them to climb out of the hole they find themselves in right now. Making matters worse on Saturday was the Habs built up a 3-0 lead in the second period before collapsing and allowing four unanswered goals to the Stars.
The Canadiens had reason to be frustrated by the end of the Stars game just based on their spot in the standings and how quickly hope faded into darkness. Also frustrating the Canadiens players and especially their head coach on Saturday night were a few missed calls from the referees throughout the game.
Ben Chiarot felt he was slew-footed early in the game and gave a half-hearted, one-handed tap on the shin pads of the Stars player who took him out of the play. As the Stars player skated away unfazed by what amounted to a stick tap from the Habs defender, the referees arm finally went up in the air to call a slash, after missing the initial trip that took Chiarot to the ice in the first place.
Ilya Kovalchuk attempted to dump a puck into the Stars zone in the first period. As he tried to flip the puck in the air, his stick magically was cut into two pieces. Or so the officials thought. The Stars defender who slashed Kovalchuk’s stick just as it magically sawed itself in half must have been a coincidence. The severity of the slash is never up for debate when a stick is broken in two, it is just always called a penalty. Not this time.
As Max Domi was giving interviews after the game, it was difficult not to notice the blood running down his chin from a nasty cut on his face. While watching the game it was obvious the blood came from either of two whacks Domi received from opponent’s sticks to his face. While that was obvious to anyone watching, neither infraction was called on the ice by the two referees.
Early in overtime, Joel Armia was carrying the puck up ice and beat a Stars defender. While chasing Armia up ice, the Stars player reached in a couple of times with his stick and knocked Armia off stride and to the ice. This is a call every time it happens at the NHL level. Except this time.