Bad officiating makes Baby Jesus cry

Last night’s Canucks-Blackhawks game was the worst example of officiating I’ve ever seen.

Am I mad that the Blackhawks lost? No. The Canucks are a damn good team.

I am mad that the Blackhawks did not lose fair and square, but because of some very questionable calls.

Consider the following:

  • What should have been the first goal by the Blackhawks–and the game–was waived off due to goaltender interference.But there was no goalie interference, other than a Canucks defender getting in Roberto Luongo’s way. Why was this call not video reviewed? 
  •  The Canucks first goal was actually an offside play. The puck left the zone before defenseman Christan Ernhoff slap shot it past ‘Hawks goalie Marty Turco. What was the linesman doing? I know hockey is fast, but linesmen have one job to do–they should do it right.
  • Roberto Luongo got tangled up with one of his teammates in the third period, resulting in a goal mouth scramble that could have led to a goal for the Blackhawks. That is until the ref whistled the play dead, claiming that the net was dislodged. But the net wasn’t even touched.
  • Again in the third, Patrick Sharp was tripped while shooting on the Canucks goal. His feet were taken from underneath him with a stick, causing Sharp to crash headlong into the boards. Why no tripping call or penalty shot? Taking the puck carrier out by knocking his feet from under him is a penalty in EVERY version of hockey (ice, roller, floor).
  •  Brent Seabrook got a holding penalty in the third period that was total b.s. Normally, I’d concede a bad penalty call here and there, but at this point it seemed the refs would do whatever it took to make the Blackhawks lose.

Waving off a good goal, whistling a play dead due to a dislodged net that wasn’t dislodged and blatantly ignoring a flagrant trip were 3 calls that clearly cost the Blackhawks the game that could have–and should have–been theirs.

Head of NHL Officiating Terry Gregson should demote referees  Eric Furlatt and Chris Rooney to the AHL immediately. Those are the 2 clowns who were officiating the ‘Hawks-‘Nucks game. Obviously, they were watching some other game.

mm

Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

6 thoughts on “Bad officiating makes Baby Jesus cry”

  1. the problem with demoting the incompetant officials to the ahl is then we'd have none left in the nhl.

    and what's worse is… the linesmen aren't much better anymore. You have one job to do, so DROP THE EFFING PUCK ALREADY.

  2. Agreed, but you can't say bounces weren't also going toward Chicago's side.

    1. Boyton's goal (excuse my mispelling of his name if I did) went of his leg and bounced into the net.

    2. The goal that Tanev put into our own net

    As for the waived off goal, well I know that sucks pretty hard but you can't say that the Hawks didn't get a few make-up calls for that big mistake by the refs. In fact a 5 on 3! So the refs gave the Hawks a chance to get back into it, but the number 1 PP didn't get it done.

    As for the Erhoff goal, you have to admit when taking a one timer so quickly so close to the line it's VERY difficult for any linesman to make that call.

    I think of it this way,there is no doubt that the Hawks play very well against the Canucks in fact I'd say they "have our number". But the bottom line is, the Hawks had the lead with 14 mins left in the 3rd and couldn't finish the game. They blew the lead. And that has happened way to often for Chicago. And I say that with all my respect as a Canucks fan.

    Yes, the refs did do a lot of back tracking. Another note I caught on was after the scramble play that got blown down because of the net, they decided or "ignored" the fact that Luongo's mask was falling apart on another play and didn't blow the whistle. Things like this make the game frustrating but also very exciting.

    If the table was flipped and I was standing in your position, granted, I would be unhappy.

    I did a quick blog last night just on how aggressive the rivalry between our 2 teams are. (Plus that was a pretty sweet goal by Henrick) which led to a very rare celebration by Henrick. That is a perfect example on how these two teams really wanna beat the crap out of eachother.

    Thanks for the post, I enjoyed the read! And hopefully we'll meet in the play-offs once again!

  3. Yeah, but if the Hawks and Canucks meet in the playoffs again, the Canucks will win this time.

    Both teams are pretty even. The Hawks were slightly better the past 2 years. With the personnel moves by both teams this year, the Canucks are the better team, at least on the ice.

    The waived off goal missed tripping call and blowing the play dead over a non-dislodged net would suck for any team. I'd be mad if this happened to the Islanders, Devils or even the Red Wings.

  4. hey Michael a puck can go off a leg. There was no kicking motion. Learn the rules if you are going to qoute them.

    1 and out in the playoffs for the canuckleheads this year

  5. @Anonymous

    I wasn't attacking anybody with my comment or bringing down the Hawks so I'd appreciate it if you treated another hockey fan similarly.

  6. Hey Anonymous,

    He wasn't saying that it was against the rules…he talking about the bounces of the game.

    Like Taney's own goal, Boyton's bounce was more due to luck than a set play.

    If you don't have anything constructive to say….why bother posting?

    I thought the game was frustrating to watch (especially the Seabrook penalty late in the third), and don't envy the jobs the refs have.

    It's truly a thankless profession in pro sports.

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