The Hockey File

With 2:19 left in the second period, the Montreal Canadiens looked high and dry with a 4-1 score line against the Washington Capitals. Then, in a sequence of events that I just can’t comprehend, the Capitals escape with a 6-5 victory after just 28 seconds of overtime when Nicklas Backstrom fired home his third goal of the game. I’d call that the game of the playoffs if I didn’t smell the stench in the air.

Now, I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but after tonight I can’t believe there wasn’t a concerted effort to get the Capitals back in the series. The Canadiens were full marks for their 4-1 lead, because they played the game far better- they had structure, they had defence and they worked much harder than the Capitals did. It was precisely as I thought the series would proceed, because Montreal had the qualities Washington only wished they had. Then, with 1:40 to go in the second period, a series of questionable calls allowed the Capitals to get back into the game.

-At 18:20 of the 2^nd- 39 seconds after the Canadiens went up 4-1- Backstrom gets his first goal of the game after Mike Knuble ran interference on Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak. There wasn’t a lot of contact, but as TSN’s Bob McKenzie pointed out, the Detroit Red Wings with Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen have had goals called back on them in similar situations. We also saw Knuble fall into Halak after anticipating contact from Canadiens defenceman Hal Gill, which should have brought the goal back. In any case, it’s another example of the league’s shoddy consistency.

-Seconds later the Capitals nearly got another goal after Tom Poti literally dragged Halak out of his crease with his stick. The play was only whistled dead because of a hand pass, not goaltender interference as it should have been.

-On the 4-3 goal, Alexander Ovechkin’s first goal of the playoffs, the puck was sitting in between Halak’s pads, and sat there for a couple of seconds before Ovechkin poked it home. Now, depending on your camera angle, Halak did or didn’t have the puck, but, again, I’ve seen countless instances where the play was blown dead in that situation, and I personally lost track of the puck watching it on TV. Therefore, I have a hard time believing that goal should have stood.

-Moments later, Gill was whistled for interference after decking the Capital who dumped the puck in a fraction of a second after the puck was released. The Canadiens killed off the power play, but the Capitals gained momentum on a penalty that shouldn’t have been called.

-Minutes later, Mike Cammalleri tried to move into the slot for a shot but was instead spun around on a hook by a Capitals defender. No call.

-With two minutes to go in the game- with the Canadiens up 5-4 after Tomas Plekanec scored with five minutes to go- Andrei Markov was clipped with a high stick. The offence wasn’t detected by the officials, who instead caught Cammalleri on an infraction. Seconds later, John Carlson, the Capitals’ fine young defenceman (perhaps one day being better than Mike Green, who definitely doesn’t deserve to be a defenceman with the defence he puts in) fires home the goal that ties the game which sends it to overtime.

Now, it’s still very much possible- and perhaps even likely- that all this will be moot and Montreal, who plays the game far better and far more completely than the run-and-gun Capitals do, will still win the series in five or six games, but if the series turns here and Washington wins the series, you can point directly to this series of officiating blunders as the turning point. If one, or even two, of these incidents occurred, I may have written it off as officiating mistakes, but the sheer number of these Capital-favourable calls at the moment they needed it most makes it hard for me to believe it was not a concerted effort by the officials to “help” the Capitals through. If so, it’s not the first time the legitimacy of NHL officials can be questioned- recall the Stephane Auger/Alexandre Burrows incident earlier this season- which points to a disturbing officiating trend. Perhaps this isn’t at Tim Donaghy standards, but games like this- with a team, the Capitals, who are known to be favoured by the league’s marketing department- sure won’t assuage feelings that we’re not getting there. Come on, NHL, wake up. The Canadiens- and the Capitals- deserve much better. If the Canadiens do indeed go down, I want it to be because the Capitals were better, not because they received favourable calls from the officials. I want to believe in this sport again. Don’t let me down.

-DG

UPDATE: A giant thank you to Moey's Musings for the mention: Habs and other Moey musings: A rare treat...... Check out her site, she has a lot of interesting stuff.

# posted by Vicendum : 8:24 PM