FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-The Senators probably deserved better last night. At least a point, anyway. Two late penalty calls gave the top team in the Western Conference a chance to steal the victory and they took full advantage of the opportunity handed to them. Ottawa can take some comfort in the fact that they hung with the Blackhawks though. This was a well-played game by both teams with some good saves at both ends of the rink. If Chicago is one of the top teams in the league, well Ottawa is right there with them.
-I’ve been trying to limit the amount of complaining I do about officiating this year. I mean, I still do it A LOT. But less than previous years. Unfortunately inconsistent and often game-altering officiating is just part of being an NHL fan. It’s an incredibly fast game and calls will be missed and mistakes will be made. If the NHL was looking for a small change they could make to improve the situation, just making officials available to the media after the game would be a great first step. Players have to explain what happened when they make a mistake. Referees should have to do the same.
-The one call that we’ve been seeing a lot of lately that drives me absolutely insane is the slash on the stick. This didn’t used to be a penalty and now officials are calling it in seemingly random situations. The problem with that is it’s a play that happens hundreds of times a game. That’s how players defend. There’s just no way you can call that with any level of consistency. A suggestion- if the stick breaks, call it. Otherwise, don’t bother.
-Oh and that Derick Brassard non-call? How does that happen? The low official is looking directly at Brassard, the puck is there, the stick clearly makes contact with his face…and no call. Baffling. The only possible justification is that they didn’t want to give Ottawa a 5 on 3 in that situation. They were just fine with giving Chicago one in the final five minutes of the game though. Guy Boucher isn’t the type to blame the referees in the media but he was clearly frustrated with the lack of a call there. And rightfully so.
-Today at 11:00 AM, the NHL will hold a press conference to make Ottawa’s outdoor game official. Obviously it’s an announcement that has been a long time coming but getting to this point certainly wasn’t easy. Eugene Melnyk took a lot of heat when he suggested that a game might not happen after the Parliament Hill idea fell through but good on him for swallowing his pride to bring this showcase to our city. The game will be played on Saturday, December 16th at TD Place against the Montreal Canadiens.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
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