Bleedin' Blue
Fansided

St. Louis Blues: NHL Must Get Officiating Under Control

By Todd Panula

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Apr 13, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) pressures St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) pressures St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

The Blues/Blackhawks’ game two was a prime example of the problem with today’s officiating.

Perhaps, and I use that word heavily, the offside call against Jori Lehtera was correct but apparently the NHL wasn’t even using the camera that seemed to prove them correct.

Instead of that crisp image, which still could have been ruled inconclusive and most likely has at times during the season, the NHL used some weird, grainy film that looked more like something you would see trying to analyze who shot JFK. All they needed was some suit saying “back…and to the left.”

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In addition to that call, there was the bogus dual penalties given to Andrew Ladd for crosschecking and Robby Fabbri for embellishment. While Darren Pang would disagree, I have long said that there should not be two penalties in most instances.

It is either the actual penalty or the player dived/embellished. To call both is just gutless officials not wanting to impact the situation, though they usually do. Instead of having a powerplay at a key point in the contest, the St. Louis Blues were forced to play four-on-four.

To make matters worse, the officials actually do give a penalty to Ladd for the crosscheck on that play but then on the goal that made the game 2-1 Chicago, apparently it is legal to push the goaltender into the net.

I’ve heard arguments on both sides. NBC analyst, Anson Carter said it was easily a good goal. By no means. His argument was that Brian Elliott was just going backward and Andrew Shaw got to the puck first.

Firstly, Shaw was basically on top of Elliott and if you really watch it, Elliott is going toward the left and then suddenly starts sliding into the net. What did that if not Shaw? Magic?

The Blues own Bernie Federko tried to reason that it was Kevin Shattenkirk that pushed Shaw, but again if you look closely, Shattenkirk misses on the initial shove and Shaw still falls into the goaltender.

The problem is there isn’t any consistency. Fans know it.

Even analysts know it.

Again, the problem is consistency. There is none. And that leads to us fans coming up with unfounded and unsavory reasons.

Next: Is There Really a Conspiracy?

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