Posts About "NHL Officials"
4 Women to Officiate Prospect Games in NHL First
September 6th, 2019 The NHL for the first time has selected four female officials to work on the ice at several prospect tournaments being held this weekend. Katie Guay and Kelly Cooke have been selected as referees, while Kirsten Walsh and Kendall Hanley will work as lin...
Off the Crossbar: Refs to Learn Rulebook Before Cup Final
May 25th, 2017 With Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final slated for Monday night in either Pittsburgh or Ottawa, many league officials will be taking the weekend to open their NHL rulebook for the very first time. “First, I gotta find it,” said Kevin Pollock, a seventeen-year veteran NHL referee. “I honestly never knew there was such a...
Blown Calls Ruining Oilers Playoff Chances, NHL Credibility
May 6th, 2017 There are some who will argue that the Oilers are the only ones to blame for the fact that they are now down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the Anaheim Ducks. To a degree, Edmonton does need to take responsibility for defensive breakdowns, misreads and the inability to clear the defensive zone, but the reality is, this is now...
The Current State of the NHL Power Play
April 24th, 2017 Is it just me or are the number of power-play chances in the NHL down? Given what happened to the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, it's a question that definitely merits an answer. Recall that the Blue Jackets finished the 2016-17 season with the fewest power-play chances in almost 30 seasons according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In...
Blue Jackets Given Historically Few Power Plays
April 9th, 2017 The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in a slump at the wrong time. Entering Sunday's game in Toronto, they have lost six games in a row. They haven't done that all season to this point. They've been outscored 21-11 while scoring more than two goals just once in that stretch. Even more noticeable on the score sheet are the...
Vermette Appeal a Waste of Time
February 19th, 2017 Antoine Vermette made a bone-headed decision during the third period of the Anaheim Ducks’ 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild Tuesday. After losing a second straight faceoff cleanly, he gave linesman Shandor Alphonso a mild slash to the back of his legs. The officials immediately stopped play and sent Vermette to the locker room with a...
Blind Justice: The Problem With NHL Officiating
April 4th, 2015 In the current state of NHL officiating, if things continue as they currently are; someone is going to die on the ice. It's not a question of if, but when. It's been mentioned before in "anti-fighting" circles that someone is going to get killed while fighting, but that's just a high profile example of a dangerous situation -...
Ref Roundup: Rule Changes, Russian Ref, 'Boom Boom' Goes Ballistic
March 19th, 2015 With the NHL's GMs wrapping up their meeting in Florida, a look at the proposed rule changes leads off this week's Ref Roundup: While there's always concerns about the consistency of officiating, there's something to be said for consistency in the rulebook as well. While no major changes may be in store for the 2015-16 NHL...
Kings Controversial Goal Spoils Epic Series
April 29th, 2014 Let me say this first. The Kings absolutely deserve to be playing a Game 7. In no way do I believe that the Sharks deserved to win Game 6. But the Kings controversial goal that broke the tie in Monday night's clash will forever cast doubt on the series itself. And that is a shame, because the epic rise and fall of the Sharks paired with...
The Absurdity of Criticizing NHL Officials
April 25th, 2014 The lack of respect for NHL officials is appalling; and with the playoffs in full swing, no other group has served as the perfect scapegoat. While nobody is perfect, including officials, chastising the men in stripes is laughably absurd. The challenges they face just to make it to the NHL exceed far beyond what the average person...
Should Puck Over Glass be an Automatic Penalty?
June 21st, 2013 This season, the debate has flared up after a few games were decided by the dreaded puck over glass penalty, a.k.a., the infamous delay-of-game penalty. This season, the debate has flared up after a few games were decided by the dreaded puck-over-the-glass penalty, a.k.a., the infamous delay-of-game penalty. There's been a few of...
Rangers vs. Bruins: Scouting the Refs, Game One
May 16th, 2013 How much do you know about the men that will be wearing the striped sweaters for tonight's game? One is a Boston native and the other was called "a terrible official" by Rangers' coach John Tortorella. Does that make you nervous, Rangers fans? Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup between the New York Rangers and...
The NHL Officials You Don't See, Part II
December 1st, 2009 By Rick Gethin The NHL Officials You Don't See, Part I can be found here. The atmosphere gets louder as the puck is about to be dropped to start the second period of play between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Anaheim Ducks. Upstairs in the NHL officials booth meanwhile, a hushed demeanor overtakes...
