NHL referees are broken.

#nhl #hockey #edmontonoilers
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby receiveed his first game misconduct after a heated altercation with Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson... and his comments after the game were VERY interesting. The issue with NHL officiating has been a consistent problem for years, with players and coaches not knowing the standard for what they can and can't do. The NHL is facing criticism from its biggest stars and the question is, how can the league improve the officiating and make it more consistent? All this & more in the video.
Thank you to our Sponsor Hockey Training:
Check out Hockey Training here!
Hockey Training KZbin: / hockeytraining
Hockey Training Shop: shop.hockeytraining.com/
Music brought to you by blaowry
Follow him on ⏩
/ blaowry
/ @blaowrybeats3390
www.beatstars.com/blaowry

[@JordenTyler32]

All I ask for, all I want. Is for refs to have to answer questions in the media like the coaches and players do, let them explain themselves.

[@earthquakkejake9894]

I agree!!

[@csolivais1979]

So that everyone can cry about their answers? Why wasn't this called? "Didn't see it," "didn't think he was worth calling" ect, ect.

[@HockeyRiveNord]

This. As other said, the tape could be worned thin quite fast, but knowing you'll have to answer the question in 45min might affect how you call the game.

[@bigdaddyafterlifeqc9004]

Would solve a lot they wouldn't be able to hide behind their whistles

[@TheGiftRF]

Then you risk pumping up the refs ego even more. That would be ridiculous

[@tjhman11]

Sid criticized the playoff format after the all star game so he was put on radar high alert

[@HotDog88GT]

He's right about the playoff format.

[@Justme77400]

@@HotDog88GT He absolutely is right about that.

[@freewayfranklinsaint6874]

And what are you trying to say ?

[@boltinabottle6307]

@@Justme77400 Yeah. We've known that TBL would play TOR since about the quarter mark of the season. They're just fighting for home ice in that series.

[@danielwright4987]

They didn't give him a misconduct for criticizing the league lol

[@kyliam80]

Nobody realizes that what he is actually pissed off about is that he got cross checked into a slap shot, which is extremely dangerous.

[@mbuckley3828]

While that may be the case, Sid has played long enough to realize that most D-men are playing the man and not the puck. When near the crease, always be expecting the contact. A penalty was initially called on the play and Crosby wouldn't let it go, more so due to his team being down big at that point more than anything else.

[@audibletapehiss3764]

It was a push, not a crosscheck. And he certainly didn't have to dive into it head over heels. There's also the matter of his attempted slew foot on Anderson moments before, if we're worried about safety.

[@thenextguest3230]

@@audibletapehiss3764 Yeah a stick to the back shoving him into the lane of a slapper... just a normal hockey push.

[@McAwesomePants69]

@@420xo Uh The Hockey Guy is pretty reliable but also does cover much drama so

[@vilhamdutch2962]

He’s pissy and always upset 😭 but yea the reffing is absolute dog shit the fact you can’t say anything about it cuz of fines is insane.

[@coyrex1250]

I will admit that reffing is a very hard and thankless job, but there definitely needs to be some more accountability to them.

[@andrewgrant2948]

Thankless? Why should they be thanked. It’s a job and dont they get paid like $200k+?

[@coyrex1250]

@Andrew Grant people thank the players all the time and they're paid way more. Point is refs are treated like shit overall and it kinda sucks. You wouldn't like if your job had you constantly get treated like shit either.

[@jacobchevalier1909]

@@coyrex1250 if they stop fucking up people won’t get upset anymore. Ez pz

[@frsknsld]

@@coyrex1250 no one goes to hockey games to watch the refs. piss on them. deserve no thanks

[@user-hr2nc6nn2c]

I might think about thanking the ref if they did their job and didn't do everything that was mentioned in the video.

[@kidt3068]

This goes on at every level of hockey. I play a “no contact” league. We have some guys who still check. Referees never call it. Problem is when we think we are playing a non-check game and we put our guard down and then get cleaned out and the referees just stand there. Then proceed to get angry with you if you complain about the non-existent refereeing

[@joemarkivich635]

Or better yet some guys hitting you all game then you decide to hit him back then all of a sudden it’s a penalty on you.

[@stpierreorama]

@@joemarkivich635 You have to consider hockey is easily the toughest sport to officiate. Although the rules are written as objectively as possible there is lots of room for subjective judgement on a play. It’s an extremely fast game and at one angle something looks clean until you see it from a different angle and then its obviously an infraction. Their job is not easy and just like superstars make bad plays and get lit up at times, the best refs often make mistakes as well.

[@dha1078]

Too many refs, all levels, have a mentality that I can basically do whatever they want, and if questioned, will lash out at anyone questioning their judgement. Sorry, but get another job dude!

[@simonroy2123]

@@dha1078 I'm a ref and i'm really patient with players but not anymore. I rarely see games where players don't complain even if i officiate the right way. If you can't treat the referee with respect, gtfo.

[@codywarhawk7099]

Officiating jobs are for people who wanted to get into politics so they could be abusive dicks towards their constituents, but they never got the money or the fame in order to do it. You have to be 100% an asshole to wanna become a ref in modern times.

[@vilhamdutch2962]

They are cross checking in front of the net 24/7 every game now. It all needs to be cleared up.

[@brendannell2193]

Hockey is a rough game. If you don’t like it don’t play (I love it).

[@jeffb7244]

@@brendannell2193 this isnt lacrosse, crosschecking is a penalty in hockey

[@michaelbecker2435]

only if the referees call it.

[@mbuckley3828]

@@jeffb7244 The refs have been pretty consistent with calling all of the crosschecks away from the crease this season but only calling the most egregious ones while next to the crease. For me, I'm fine with that as long as they remain consistent regarding this.

[@jeffb7244]

@@mbuckley3828 Not sure you watched the video, but a crosscheck that puts a guy on the ground is pretty egregious

[@sora1498]

how are refs not embarrassed

[@alpearson9158]

NOT ALLOWED AND NEVER HAS BEEN ; CROSBY WAS SO FFFING OUT OF LINE AND GOT WHAT HE DESERVED PERIOD

[@Aj-sn1dp]

There’s nothing to be embarrassed by? Anderson got a penalty. Sid took a dive then proceeded to keep bitching. Tried to get physical w Anderson. Repeatedly kept bitching instead of going to the box.

[@mattreid8292]

@@alpearson9158 are you aloud to cross check people to the numbers? This is a numb on the arm he took him off his feet this should have been called this is coming from a bruins and jets fans.

[@entheogenocide]

@alpearson9158 crosby was given a misconduct for literally no reason. So was the guy who crosschecked him. Thats why crosby was following ref. Then he got a SECOND misconduct for trying to get an explanation, as a captain.

[@uprising2628]

@@alpearson9158 This is such a stupid thing to say. You only say shit like this because it's Crosby. Watch the game, watch the play, watch the interactions.

[@modernwarfaremaniac12]

That Benn play is ridiculous lol

[@thenextguest3230]

Ikr... too bad I counldn't see the game though because Bally didn't have it

[@codydavidyates72]

It was experimental

[@stoopyscape6650]

Helmetless Hartman taken down head first is so dangerous. Fking ridiculous that wasnt called.

[@stoopyscape6650]

@Kirill is a HOFer #97 reavo lookin for him on friday i hope

[@jacklegg21]

It also didn’t affect the play though. That kinda shit happens often.

[@joshuadoll9000]

Personally I think the officials should be doing more post game reviews and debriefs with the video of their game as well as others to look at the calls/non-calls made and to explain why they made the choice they did. Then officiating management could dictate any changes they’d like to see to what was called. The first few games would be some larger adjustments but after doing it for a while the adjustments would be minute and result in more consistency between different crews.

[@jordansehn]

The heart of the issue is that the consequences of a call are so large. Refs don't have a way to call minor infractions with minor consequences. So they are left with only making major calls and it's hard to have a consistent standard. Especially when the game can be played with so many strategies some bang and crash while others run and gun, etc. If there was something closer to a foul like in the NBA, that would go a long way to getting a more consistent standard. But that's a big change and how do you get there while not affecting the flow of the game.

[@mikecolie9290]

@@jordansehn Really like the NBA? Consistent standard? Laughable......

[@SAJe_53]

The NHL should also be doing post game reviews... of the officials' paychecks.

[@MultisportOfficial]

@@SAJe_53 Try doing the job. Then you can complain about it.

[@MultisportOfficial]

@@jordansehn Now there's a response I can get behind.

[@rjdaire38]

It's the ultimate irony how refs don't want to be the deciding factor and then a call (or no call) they get wrong ends up being the deciding factor. Then they're just like 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@andrewfrancis1375]

Refs not wanting to call a penalty because they don't want to decide a teams fate is such nonsense. If you take a penalty and can't kill it off and lose that's on you as a team for not working to improve your pk over the season, or not being more disciplined. Not saying that they should just call everything just that they should call the game as it is (be consistent with the rules for both teams) and let the more prepared and adaptable team win.

[@charliezicolillo]

look at the superbowl last night.

[@uprising2628]

Refs just need to call everything at this point

[@joshuadoll9000]

Yep. Unfortunately that requires a resiliency and thick skin on the officials part that is rarely found these days. The amount of times I’ve been assaulted and abused because I made a game changing (correct) call, even when extremely blatant, is astounding. But that’s the job, it’s literally what officials are paid to do. Like you said, the team has to accept their fate for how disciplined they play. When I was playing hockey in high school we had a great team because we were extremely disciplined and rarely took penalties. As a result we were able to beat teams by simply having the advantage more and out working other teams. That was our reward for being disciplined.

[@MatthewBaran]

@@charliezicolillo exactly. Good teams will fight the adversity

[@Milehighsnake98]

I'd go so far as to say that any ref that sees a penalty that they would call in the regular season and DOESN'T call it is doing FAR more to affect the outcome than to just do their job.

[@ChrisJones-yt8zp]

The argument that refs don't call penalties because they don't want to be "the deciding factor" in a game is ironic because by not calling penalties they are also becoming the deciding factor. Officiating in the NHL is horrible. How about just call penalties as they happen instead of "letting them play?"

[@bangyahead1]

6 guys in each penalty box doesnt bother me. Call em like they shold be called and get more of those 5v4, 5v3, 4v3, and especially the 3v3 that the NHL seems to be so in love with.

[@morganjones7643]

The cross checking was called.. Sid came up to Anderson while he was going to the penalty box, thus having both player given a 10 misconduct

[@cutekitten9856]

Exactly. I do agree with the general point that NHL referees are not doing the best job, but in this situation they were 100% correct.

[@TheOatmealGuy]

Don't captains (or alternatives) go over to the refs to get the verdict on penalties and report back to the coaches on why said penalty was called?

[@briancathcart3482]

@@TheOatmealGuy when you get a penalty A: go to the box, and B: shut your mouth

[@TheOatmealGuy]

@@briancathcart3482 Obviously if you yourself take a penalty. But then your captain (or alternative captain if the main C isn't on the ice) can go and talk to the ref about rule interpretation. Or did they take that part of the rulebook out after February 10th?

[@briancathcart3482]

@@TheOatmealGuy That is no argument, So Crosby can swear at a Ref on ice, and that's OK. A: go to the box and B: shut your fn mouth or suffer the consequences

[@aaabbbccc1939]

"we need to cut down on fighting" "we need to clean up the league" "we need to remove the goons from the league" "we need to reduce big hits out of fear of CTE" "Hey why are the inconsistent officials more involved in the game???"

[@wurm90125]

One lead to another I'm afraid. Cutting down on fighting leads to more cheap shots since you've taken away the ability of the players to police the game. This leads to more referee involvement which leads to more bad calls. I think the salary cap ultimately took the goons out because having a guy that plays 5 minutes a game and has one job take up cap room and a roster spot is rather pointless.

[@jasonjansen9831]

We need to bring enforcers back to calm this all down

[@OfficialA9RBLX]

It's honestly so true, I was watching a leafs game one day and a leafs player tripped the other guy and got a 2 minute pen. Later a leafs player got high sicked in the mouth and started bleeding like CRAZY. That play wasnt called and the ref was 2 feet away.

[@chinmayhejmadi7902]

Ok thank you for bringing that up about the McDavid goal (well, assist). When I saw that I was like....isn't that the definition of a cross check? Why was that not called? The only reason I could think of was that it was probably not forceful enough to be dangerous play but it did affect the play and created the turnover.

[@bangyahead1]

A crosscheck is a crosscheck no matter how much power with which it is delivered. The rulebook says nothing about the amount of force applied.

[@craigy420]

Agreed, its stupid that the game changes in playoffs. Last yr they did better but 2 and 3 yrs ago Mcdavid just got hooked or interfered with every time he tried to build speed w no calls. Yrs ago the Bruins just bullied Vancouver in the finals and they got away w murder. Was the stupidest thing I ever watched

[@D-Fens_1632]

Well the Bruins eventually paid for it with that blatant uncalled trip in the series against the Blues in 2019 that resulted in a goal. I'm a 30+ year Blues fan and even I'm fully willing to accept every "that was some BS" comment from Bostonians, they're right. Then again we also had the infamous hand pass incident with the Sharks that spurred a rule change. All comes out in the wash I guess.

[@bangyahead1]

cuz it was obviously rigged. Vancouver had the #1 power play that season.. When the series started i said if the ycall the penalties like they should the canucks win in 5. If the refs pocket the whistles the Bruins will win, because the Canucks most effective weapn cant get on the ice. As we all know the refs pocketed the whistles and the Bruins won an obviously riogged series. ]

[@garryleonhardt4925]

There may be a shortage....unfortunatley the officials aren't very consistent or very good. The NHL under Bettman has fallen

[@larrymccue8097]

NHL officiating is far more like wrestling than people like to admit.

[@therealbacalao1402]

You can’t have consistent double standards like different post season officiating. The players need to know where the line is and the only way to show that clearly is to call very conservatively. Cross checks are cross checks whether they knock a guy down or not. Call them every time and they’ll just stop, soft, hard, dirty, fair, whatever - they’ll all go away and the issue (along with others) won’t come up. There will always be edge cases for trips/slashes/hooks but it’ll be a hell of a lot better than what we’re looking at now.

[@dorkman7247]

I like how the first words you say about the incident are completely wrong. The cross check WAS called and crosby was getting into with anderson when they were trying to take anderson to the box

[@maikinmoves]

To really emphasize it, Nikita Kucherov 2018-2019 season finished with 128 pts. and started the year off unstopable, that year the NHL also cracked down on slashing and stick fouls for the first 2-3 months and that started to eroud away for the rest of time. You can see it in his stats, you can see it today in why everyone calls him "cheap shot" cause he is tired of it, MacDavid is learning it to now, and his cheap agressions is why he is doing so good this year, and Sid unfortunately is too old to fight back now. They need to be consistant and they need to call it by the book or change the book.

[@Gretri17]

As a Red Wings fan, I've watched a lot of games, and the calls have been outright ludicrous at times. Throughout the span 3 games, there was 3 similar high sticking occurrences in all 3 games. 1 was a no call, another was a 5 min Major misconduct, and last was a 2 minute minor. Just goes to show how inconsistent the NHL officiating has become this year. Even recently, there was a goalie interference that was reviewed and NOT CALLED in our game against the Pens on Tuesday

[@bangyahead1]

The refs seem to mistakenly believe that goaltender interference means taking a run at them. That's not the case. How many goals did we see this season that were allowed to stand becauuse the contact with the goalie was "incidental" but it wasnt incidental becauise the goalie couldnt make the save because he was being interfered with.... in a league which wants more scoring because the league believes scoring is exciting to fans.. They have a conflict of interests. The certain rules interfere with their desire to see more scoring.

[@KevinZ.000]

As a Bruins fan that watches Jack and Brick on NESN, every game there is a comment, "well, I guess that is the bar for calls in this game." Because there is no consistency.

[@burno7799]

Gary Bettman doing a good job as usual. Sadly the NHL is a joke under Gary Bettman

[@theoldboy70]

The most thankless job in sports, not an easy task.

[@thundercookie1303]

there was a cross checking penalty on the play

[@johnyounoe6219]

Man if that is a crosschecking penalty, what happened to Bpuchard getting crosschecked twice in front of his own net, then getting highstick and no call.

[@shawnwharry952]

"the referees wont make a call because they don't want to be the deciding factor" Not making the call is just as likely to be the deciding factor.

[@johnknope1664]

It's the same in youth hockey. Every game has different rules and nobody can say anything to the refs because of their feelings.

[@Milehighsnake98]

I think youth is worse because the refs just want the game to end as quickly as possible so they don't call anything. I remember hearing from a 12U kid who got trained to be a referee that in his training class of about 25-30 people, there were 4 who couldn't skate, and 8-10 who had never even watched a hockey game. They just showed up because it was an easy $45 per hour for a game.

[@1xRacer]

Surprised he didn't get penalty for holding

[@dkhdkh9606]

A penalty in the first period of an exhibition game is a penalty in overtime of Stanley cup game 7. I never understood why the interpretation of the rules changes depending on the game and the player. That is the core source of inconsistency.

[@pumpkinthe15th16]

All I can do as a kings fan is laugh.

[@reaganharder1480]

Ok, two recent examples where my two favorite teams benefited. Winnipeg Jets vs Chicago Blackhawks, Nate Schmidt defending a rush pokes the puck off the stick of a Blackhawks player right as that player was about to shoot. The follow through of the attempted shot (not a shot because the puck had just been poked off his stick) nails Schmidt in the face and he goes down with a steady stream of blood coming from his mouth, and heads to the dressing room as soon as play is called. According to the rule book a high stick on "the wind up or follow through of a shooting motion" is not a penalty. The refs confer, review the play, and assess a 4 minute double minor for high sticking. This play should not have been a penalty according to the rules, as it was quite clearly a follow through of a shooting motion. Did it matter to the game? Probably not. The Jets won 4-1 and controlled play for most of the game regardless, but it's still a blatant wrong call and 4 minutes of powerplay time they should not have had. Example number 2. Edmonton Oilers vs i don't remember who. Oilers are in the zone and pressing, an Oilers player is hooked, the ref puts his arm up to signal the delayed call, and a few seconds later the Oilers score. According to the rule book, the goal should cancel the upcoming penalty and the game carries on as after any other goal. The opposing player was still assessed a 2 minute minor for hooking. Once again, a blatantly wrong call that gave a team powerplay time they did not deserve. Neither of these rules are particularly new, or have been changed recently. In both cases the commentators for the team that benefitted were surprised and confused by the call. It genuinely seems the refs don't even know the rules.

[@Chris_Ireland]

Thank you for this video 🙏 I've been frustrated about these power tripping refs that literally decide games. One game to the next game will be called differently. I wish there were referee watchdogs that kept stats on refs

[@Wagbag0]

Holy shit it was Garrett Rank....I figured as much. When I watch a game and think the refs are fucking horrible, I look up their names after the game. I have seen his name weekly for 2 years now.

[@Snipes-76]

RANKER the dummy !!!!!

[@lelouchvibritannia4028]

My reaction: "... WHO?!"

[@Karlmcewan]

If it's not Wes McCauley, they basically have the consistancy of a non-newtonian fluid.

[@EweCantHandletheTruth]

As far as the verbal abuse players give to NHL refs, they have a lot of leeway. The other stuff, it’s really inconsistent

[@lelouchvibritannia4028]

I'm pretty sure the players are not allowed to verbally abuse any officials.

[@katherinemcmillan5228]

so sick of refs deciding the game

[@patdro1662]

I can only think of Stallone needing toilet paper in demolition man 😁

[@81OH4Z4RD]

It's not just on-ice calls, the inconsistency of the review room in Toronto is just as bad.

[@wormsonline9507]

let's just be thankful it's not nfl officiating

[@harrisonheller7480]

Me being a penguins fan since the 2015-2016 season that was the worst call to one of the best in the game itself.

[@cmacdhon]

Cross checking hardly ever gets called anymore. I counted 17 of them in a game a couple of nights ago. It seems like the more egregious and blatantly obvious a penalty is, the less likely it will called. And whatever happened to the 3rd-man In penalty? Has that been stricken from the rule book?

[@devonrainey2482]

I love how Jamie Benn was the one getting away with throwing the guy around as the ref just casualy watched.

[@joemarkivich635]

What’s worse is especially come playoff time if a team plays physical (cross checks a lot) they can get away with it all series. Then if the other team does the same thing it is a penalty. Or the we have to keep the power plays even. Maybe one team is less disciplined?

[@immaleaf4964]

I know that players betting on games is a huge deal, and there have been accusations, haven't heard a thing about ref betting

[@peltimies2469]

There was a penalty on that play the game misconduct was given for going after Anderson after it had been called. They both got one, then Crosby got another one for going after the ref. While i do think NHL referiing is very inconsistent, i would say this was a fair call. atleast the first one.

[@RennyChan]

Reffing is a joke in the NHL. They need to be held accountable for their bad calls. Right now there's zero consequence for them being morons.

[@theunluckyfisherman4845]

We have tons of cameras watching every millisecond of every play of every game and for some reason we still rely on some average person to make a split second decision based off of one POV.

[@johnelsliger6796]

WELL SAID , WE ALL KNOW , and the Players are aware . They can't FIX IT...Period ..

[@hitmontree3736]

I still remember the bs no call in the Pens-Rangers game 7 last year. Obvious penalty committed against NY on their game winning goal in OT

[@whatabasswhole1220]

It would be great to have a channel that points out/calls out all of the bad and biased refs. There will never be any change if there is no attention brought to it.

[@SlapHappyGreen]

Sadly the bad/inconsistent reffing is nothing new, this is simply the worst we've seen it this year and like u aptly said there's no accountability like even the NBA has its 2 minute report where they confirm, or explain why they were wrong, important calls in the last few minutes the NHL has nothing even comparable to it. As for playoff reffing its not so much the rules change but as u mentioned the refs are so afraid of being seen to influence an important moment in a game that they become super hesitant to call anything(unless its a phantom high stick late in the 3rd period or a never called pick call on a tying goal in a game 7). Which is hilarious because ignoring a blatant and clear penalty and not penalizing the player/team that should be penalized IS INFLUENCING THE GAME!!!!!!! Like I love the sport and imma play hockey till the day I die but nothing makes me hate hockey more than the NHL. As for the inability to speak out against the refs its brutal, which is hilarious cause u can say almost anything to them during the game and the NHL almost will never care but anyone, doesnt matter if its a star, a fourth liner, a coach, says ANYTHING bad about refereeing in a game and ur almost guaranteed a fine and its sooo stupid

[@michellemaye4419]

First off - the crosscheck (more of a push) was called against Anderson. Crosby initiated the interaction with Anderson which they both were penalized with unsportsmanlike conduct. Anderson goes to the box and Crosby skates around complaining for “his penalty” and ref was having nothing of it. Listen to both broadcasts and you can hear the difference in who thinks what as well.

[@MeepsPeeps]

"If I speak I am big trouble.."

[@stephenmoncrieff2056]

I would include the officials in the NHL war room . It's amazing how inconsistent they are in reviewing .

[@rjdaire38]

This gives me so much validation in my opinions on the refs, especially this year. My brother and dad always said I was just getting to heated but I've always known. Videos like these help me feel better lol

[@polkhigh3333]

The less the referees have to do with the outcome of a game, the better. We should never have to see or hear them. EVER!

[@nakednerdo1424]

Stopped watching hockey 3 years ago worst officiating in all sports

[@hippokrampus2838]

As a baseball and softball umpire, I don't like the idea of officials in sports answering questions after the game. There's already a lot of flak thrown at officials and we get a lot of criticism from people who have no clue what the rules are and how they're interpreted. What I do wish we had, for all sports not just hockey, is a Rules Media Rep of sorts designated to represent the league and the officials as to what the relevant rule is, what the interpretation of said rule is, and how it is expected to be officiated and what judgement is involved.

[@TutorialClan]

if I remember correct I thought Don Cherry was the one that was campaigning about the idea of interviewing the refs

[@joshs.9036]

The NHL is quite literally a totalitarian government. When you cannot say what you want because you may get a fine, a suspension or kicked out of a game... There's a problem. Of course, it's not as deep and serious because hockey is a sport. But it's still the same principle and it's kinda fucked up.

[@danielwright4987]

I think the most important part is to be constant throughout the game. In minor hockey, up till the chl, the reffing is inconsistent. The players should be used to it being inconsistent by now. The actual game flow and effect of what happens matters to a degree too. So the referees do have an opinion on why or why not they wouldn't call an insignificant penalty.

[@tIhIngan]

I think, with the advent of hi-rez cameras and the reduced cost and size of them, we could have enough cameras around a rink beaming their stream to a control room in the building to allow for a panel of refs making calls. They press a button for stoppage, they press a different button for delayed penalty, and another button for delayed offside or icing. These buttons would light up coloured lights around the rink alerting players of what's going on. This takes the personality of the ref out of the game and you would only need a "faceoff guy" to drop the puck. Once this system is in place, we could train artificial intelligence to make calls and slowly delegate things to it over the span of the next decade or so.

[@America-First2024]

Is Paul Maurice making an attempt to coach every team in the league?

[@noeld6270]

I'm usually a fan, but this video was just straight up wrong. There was a call on Anderson, 2 minute minor. Sidney then got mad, and proceeded to get in Anderson's face. This made it offsetting penalties because Crosby tried to initiate something with Anderson, but Crosby straight up refused to go to the box, and continued to skate after the official whining at him for the offsetting. This resulted in him getting the ejection, because he thought he was above the referee. I'm usually a Crosby fan, but recently he has been like the whiny Crosby of old.

[@formertitan4935]

That's also wrong they both got a 10 after the exchange near the box.

[@noeld6270]

@@formertitan4935 Nope, check the box score. I watched the game, and Anderson has a 2 minutes for cross-checking at 9:46 in the third.

[@kevinhigh1530]

I watched the whole sequence, you can see the ref saying "that's enough" multiple times as Sid kept circling around and around. He gave Sid plenty of rope, but he already had a 10 minute misconduct by this point, the score was out of hand and even if he served his 10 there would have maybe been 2 or 3 minutes left. Why sit through the rest of the 3rd in the box? He knew what he was doing...Get a few more chirps in and take a shower.

[@drew651]

@@noeld6270 You watched the game and didn't pay attention. I just checked the play-by-play. There was 4 penalties on the play, cross checking, 10 minute misconducts for each and then a game misconduct for Crosby.

[@noeld6270]

@@drew651 Exactly like I said lol. Anderson gets the penalty, then him and Crosby both get offsetting 10 minute misconducts. Then Crosby chases three refs and gets the other 10 minute ejection, making 4 penalties in total.

[@yo-Rowe]

I’ve been running numbers on this since 2008. There are approximately 80 possible calls a game. About 40 a side. 60 if you are a Bruin. The refs randomly choose a handful to call. In about half the games they award more power plays to the team who committed more of the infractions and in doing so often decide the outcome of the game because in more than half of those games they are decided by power play goals. The NHL has 35-40% of games decided by the refs. That is 3x more than basketball, the second worst league for refs influencing the outcome. Add to that games decided by the two most serious infractions in the game - the automatic power play for shooting the puck over the glass or breaking a stick. They MUST all be called, but less serious infractions like cross checking in the face can be left to the refs discretion- after all guys shouldn’t be complaining when they weren’t cross checked to the face very hard. It’s obtuse. The best players in the world playing a crap shoot outcome. I am satisfied to just watch the highlights now because the outcomes don’t have integrity. I’m not willing to get invested in the game only to see it decided by the refs. Their opinion of who won is not interesting or relevant. I could only care if the better teams won more games. Hockey is the only league where one of the top three teams in the regular season wins the cup less than half the time. Also the only league where it’s not unusual to go the finals or win the cup one year and miss the playoffs the next. It is a crapshoot.

[@Cityboy41295]

I think a post game interview would be the way to go!!!

[@g1stylempdesign929]

LA fan was blown away about that shit call.

[@DryAttempt]

The crazy thing about this is it isn't just Hockey... ALL major sports leagues are getting really inconsistent calls.

[@ChimoWilson]

the ONLY consistency in NHL officiating is the lack of consistency.

[@Brian-jr4zn]

the fans share the sentiment too

[@mcampbell1131]

Cross checking is like holding in the NFL it happens every play

[@Fungamer4570]

I think they should officiate regular hockey like playoff hockey. Giving minor penalties for every little thing gets annoying and the constant whistles really just slow down the gameplay

[@shadowplay258]

Playoffs actually have more penalties than regular season. But you are right about the consistency being a problem.

[@Need4steve1222]

Not to mention, game management.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

I don't understand the reason of not calling penalties in the playoffs because they don't want to be a "deciding factor" when NOT calling the penalty does exactly the same thing. As a Leafs fan, the refs in Game 7 last year were shit. They might have lost anyway, but they deserved better reffing than that. It's hard enough to get past the 1st round when 75% of your division is in the top 5 of the entire league and has the highest odds of winning the cup. And now you also have to beat the refs too, despite having the hardest 4-team playoff run in the entire NHL.

[@bobxxxl]

I was at the game when Benn did that I can say the ref let him go because the crowed was mad at a no call a minute or two before that Benn was calling the referee out with that hold and being the equalizer for the crowd

[@randomcrandom]

This will be a problem so long as the league asks their officials to manufacture parity by being " game managers " rather than actually calling the rules book. The officiating is the worst is major professional sports, sure, but it's also thankless because the BOG is asking them to keep games close rather than doing what their actual job is. Until the BOG is willing to deal with 10/11 penalty games until the players adjust, this crap is what you're going to get.

[@RoyalMela]

If you call the game by the book, you'll have more players in the penalty box than on the bench. Rule book gives you the rule, refs job is to find the line between zero tolerance required by the rule book and what is good for the game. They have to let some things go to keep the game going fluenty and not calling every contact.

[@randomcrandom]

@@RoyalMela I'm not advocating that they call *every* infraction, but they absolutely should call more and should not be bound by the idea that each team getting roughly the same number of Power Plays automatically means that it was a well called game. Additionally the two rulesets for the Regular season and the playoffs has always been problematic. Hard to bring in new fans when they can't make sense of what they are watching.

[@pohateos9394]

It isn't just the referees, the entire organization lacks consistency. Look at the three goals called back against New Jersey to end their win streak... since that game I have seen people do way way way more to interfere with goalies and kicks that weren't called back. I wouldn't be salty if they always called it the same way... I feel this season more than others has been REALLY bad with refs deciding games.... interesting how that has become a thing at the same time sports betting has become mainstream..... hmmmmmm

[@user-tf3in5vn6i]

In the swedish second league allsvenskan us fans can ask questions to the refs that answer them after the game

[@davidshore1430]

The cross checking penalty WAS called.

[@armandoortiz9114]

It had to happen in LA.

[@user-iz3gv5vo6b]

But what would Corey say?

[@patrickhamos2987]

As usual the fault is with the LEAGUE. They WANT you to blame the refs. They WANT ambiguity.

[@jh2245]

One of the worst moves the NHL ever made was adding a second referee. There's not enough room on the ice even when there was only one ref as pretty much everyone knows/agrees. They in fact wanted to make all NHL rinks Olympic size ice surfaces, in the late 90's they were talking about it seriously. But they realized they'd have to get rid of a lot of expensive lower level seats in many arenas to make it happen. So instead they decided against it and eventually decided to add another whole being to the ice surface to make the lack of space even worse, lol. NHL reasoning. One referee was bad enough, now we have two of them and less room to make plays. In one first round playoff series game this year, I noticed the referee's literally got in the way of players or the play, and I'm not even kidding here, at least 8 or 9 times in one game. That's just ridiculous. The NHL is ridiculous. Lucky they have the best hockey players in the world, because besides that and the nice shiny big trophy, the NHL really has no product worth viewing. The rules are Mickey Mouse these days and the refing is an embarrassment to humanity.

[@topgun1178]

They are a joke. Some call ridiculous penalties while others call nothing. No accountability at all

[@kevintorgrimson8529]

As a player and a coach some of the best reffing was when they came and talked to you, pregame and after contiversial calls. Its about communication. They are human, we all know that they will miss calls or get it wrong.Good refs are about controlling the game and keeping a good pace, the best games are when they let the players play and let some things go. Obviously not every single infraction will be seen or called as that would kill the flow and the game ends up choppy. The NHL has created an atmosphere where refs are living in a bubble and are unaccountable, get their marching orders from the league, and any criticism is met with hefty fines. What could go wrong...

[@Milehighsnake98]

I agree. In the entire state, there's only one referee whose hand I'll shake after a game as a player or coach, and it's because he actively explains. He will even skate by the bench and say "hey, you did good on that last play, just be careful not to get your stick much higher into his hands or I'll have to call you."

[@Shifty51991]

reffing has be absolutely horrible this year....

[@Justme77400]

Refs hardly ever call penalties on cross checks in front of the net.

[@flamedphoenix84]

I believe that the refering in Hockey need to be reformed and given what are penatly. Show them all what is called and what is no. Or call everything which is what should happen. So a crosscheck is a crosscheck doesn't matter if the player fall or is still standing. If at any point in the contact the player is harmed it is a penalty. Now, Also I would implement that if you try to get a penalty like showing your back to a player coming to check you and you do it on purpose you will be called on for a penalty of your own. I don't care what they call it. I would call it unsportmanlike but if they want to add a new penalty for this kind of issue. I have watch way to many games where a player did this and almost got themselves hurt because they are not trying to protect themselves. I watched a Bobby Hall video about check from behind (checking the numbers) from the 1990's and this video explained this in great detail. This is what should be implemented to prevent injuries to all involved. Lastly, Refs need to work together like they do in American Football. Use the linesman and Ref together. They all can whistle the play dead to talk and discuss what happen. But make it a time limit of 30 secs. after that back to the game. Rewards needs a limit of 3 min max as well. People are there for the entertainment not for prefection. 1 mm over the blue line should not be called an offside just because they spend 10 min trying to make sure it was right and that was after 4 min of play. I believe if the play wasn't straight to the net and did not score right then and there then it is a good goal. Stop with this offside are a given to be no goal. The players all had plenty of time to prevent the goal and they did not. But there was an offside that was not called. Does not matter. it was missed and then there was a goal when you had your whole defense there. Deal with it. In the past, it would have been a goal. I believe this would work best. Retrain the Ref. Make sure all team agree with the training. And all Ref are liable for major mistake and if they get too many. They are required to do more training. If they don't do well after 3 retraining in a season then they are not allowed to ref. It will show they cannot be a trusted ref, so, no point keeping them.

[@register1430]

The UNWRITEN rule in the referee union is , keep it relativity even for total penalties. Missed or botched calls get evened up too.

[@Wayne-hm1qj]

It's been broken unfortunately. I love the game and watching great games wether my team or whoever but watching games get decided by refs just sucks.

[@Wayne-hm1qj]

Sabres vs Fish sticks smh wtf

[@brandondunn726]

It's not just hockey almost all sports now these days. Need a clean sweep.

[@customerservice6221]

Huh? What are you talking about? Mikey Anderson did get a penalty for the crosschecking on the play.

[@James_Bee]

Yeah, that clip of Benn doesn't show what happened right before. That was going to be penalties for both or, none at all.

[@MrHolmgren194]

The refs in the NHL are catastroficly bad, enough said.

[@989Raver]

Funny how a cross-check to the back makes Crosby's feet jump up.

[@brentm9848]

If the NHL paid their referees the median salary of the players in the league, and the linesmen 2/3 that; but also required them to do post game interviews and have their work be reviewed quarterly, with anyone not meeting a certain standard demoted to a minor league and the best of those minor leagues brought up, the problem would be almost gone in a decade.