St. Louis Blues: General Managers Must Update Replay Rules

The NHL is usually one of the better leagues at correcting their mistakes rather quickly. They have to first realize they are making a big mistake, however.

The St. Louis Blues got absolutely hosed on a goaltender interference call against the Boston Bruins. However, the issue is not that the referees did not call it initially. The issue is that the referees are the ones that decide whether they missed the call or not.

The officials from the game, at least one referee anyway, were top officials. They’ve officiated Stanley Cup Finals. That does not mean they are beyond making mistakes.

Not calling the goaltender interference was odd, but acceptable. Watching it live and on the initial replay, it seems as though it was not that egregious. Let’s analyze the play first.

Again, live and on the first replay you see a little contact, but it still seems a 50/50 prospect at best. It’s all about angles and the angles should have worked in the Blues favor with each additional replay.

There were two Bruins to make contact with Jake Allen. Jake Debrusk was the one sliding through, whose momentum clearly helped Allen slide way out of the crease.

The third portion of that replay shows Allen get pushed almost to the end of the trapezoid. By the time he stands up, there is no time to do anything because the puck got smacked into the goal.

Then, the overhead shot is the clearest indicator. You can see it on repeat in the embedded tweet below.

"Joey Palazzola on TwitterAwful call. This is the definition of goaltender interference. No call. https://t.co/ewjAFCwOOm"

The officials took the chicken way out. They claimed that Allen was already pushing to that side of the crease.

Any fool with a minuscule understanding of physics knows his slight push to his left will not carry him all the way to where he ended up. You can also clearly see the contact change his body positioning. He goes from square to the center circle to facing the side wall because two players spun him around.

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Then there is this argument, made by both fans and officials, that Allen did not make an attempt to get back into position. When, in blue blazes, did he have time to get back?

If you watch the clip in real speed, he stands up – which is exactly the time you would lunge back to make a save – exactly when the puck is swatted in. There is no time for a scramble or diving stop.

Additionally, he literally could not get back. If you watch the initial replay again, Debrusk is still laying in the crease and Ryan Spooner is standing next to the post. Unless Allen is a ghost, he cannot fly through a human body.

There was no time to react. The distance to make up was too great. Allen would have risked injury to himself or Debrusk if he leaped back into the fray for no reason. There was clear contact that changed the body position and location of the goaltender. It seems unfathomable that interference was not called upon review.

There we come to the issue. The people that missed the call are the ones in charge of deciding whether they missed the call or not.

I don’t fully blame the officials here. I’ve been in situations where, officiating soccer matches, if you’d shown me the replay I would have stuck with my initial call no matter what. It is human nature to want to prove yourself right, whether you are or not.

The blame, beyond this one incident, is with the NHL general managers. They are the ones responsible for changing this stuff and making it so there is a person, persons, committee or whatever in charge of reviews instead of leaving it up to officials.

It’s the same reason that college replay generally worked better than the NFL. There is a separate official in charge of making those calls. Even baseball took the replay away from umpires because it was simpler to have someone else make the decision.

As Chris Kerber put it during the radio broadcast, even if you don’t agree with a call, at least there is some consistency with expectation.

Nobody knows what interference is anymore. Earlier this season we saw goals get nullified because a goalie’s stick, which he put out into the fray, got swept away by a passing skate. The goaltender was still in position to make the save and did not – no goal.

However Allen’s incident is not interference. This stick to the head on Connor Hellebuyck is not interference.

Explain to a rational person how having your stick tapped is interference but blasting a goaltender in the head of moving him to the edge of the trapezoid is not. Even if you argue the puck was already through, then penalties could still be called in both instances.

Allen was calm about it, but you could tell there was something under the surface and understandably so.

"Allen: ‘Unless I’m supposed to have a 10-foot stick, I don’t think I make that save’ (VIDEO)Jake Allen and the Blues weren’t happy after a controversial goal was allowed when refs didn’t see goalie interference in the first period."

The bottom line is that the call did not cost the Blues the game overall. Their offense was anemic and they have themselves to blame for that. That initial goal gave the Bruins momentum and a chance to alter their gameplan a little.

It would have been interesting to see if non-partial replay officials would have agreed with the call. Of course the league will backup their refs once the decision has been made. They should not be the ones making that call though.

Next: Central Division Still In Blues Hands

NHL refs, despite our hatred of them some nights, do a fantastic job in one of the most difficult sports to officiate. They are human though. Someone else needs to be in charge of deciding whether a mistake was made though.

Sports needs a little more finality and certainty. Nobody knows what interference is. Nobody can tell what a catch in the NFL is anymore. These things should not be as difficult as we are making them.