The NHL Playoffs have a ref problem

The NHL officiating has been and seems to always be a major topic of discussion especially in the Playoffs. So after seeing the brutal call over in the Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers game last night, I figured surely that was the worst we’d see. Boy, was I was wrong. In the Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers game, it was one of the worst officiated games I've seen in some time. The worst of which came in the 2nd where in a tied 2 2 hockey game, Connor McDavid caught Quinn Hughes with a brutal high stick that should have been a double minor. We also had Pettersson get hit from behind, Myers hit Janmark similarly along the boards and just overall, several questionable calls. Undoubtably, I think we can all agree it was terrible officiating so I decided to go through every penalty called and missed in todays NHL hockey video!
#nhl #hockey #highlights #nhlplayoffs #vancouvercanucks #edmontonoilers

[@nextmanupNMU]

Ran into A LOT of Copyright problems with this one. Not sure what kept triggering it, but my apologies it's now nearly 24 hours late at this point!

[@CanadiansEH]

Kelly sutherland is going after you now 😂

[@stevocanuck]

nhl saw you post this video and probably tried to stop you from exposing them

[@inhumanunion1223]

Exposing the truth. Officiating has been historically bad in every sports league on the planet this year

[@duaneday5474]

Appreciate the effort.

[@jagorit3767]

Its likely because KZbin hired all the rejects Microsoft just fired from Bethesda, propagandists stay in the same area usually. Dont expect anything to work at KZbin. Ever.

[@Ashley-lz9jh]

As a Canucks fan, there were calls missed on both sides, but to force Quinn off ice for an injury and also not penalize the high sticking that led to the injury REALLY bothered me

[@KptKrunch9481]

Why? You can't be on the ice if you're bleeding, that's the rule. I do agree a penalty should of been called, but the end result would of been the same - Hughes has to have his bleeding stopped before he can go back on the ice, that rule's been in place for awhile now

[@jordancowan7849]

@@KptKrunch9481 Hughes was back on the ice about a minute later so even if he had to go to the bench he would've been available for the powerplay. Obviously McDavid dominated the Canucks last night whenever he was on the ice, and 4 minutes without having to deal with him would've made a huge difference imo, powerplay or not.

[@XxCorvette1xX]

@@KptKrunch9481 because *cause and effect* is a thing, brother.. If you’re going to acknowledge *(effect)* that he’s bleeding and enforce that rule, you must also acknowledge that *(cause)* something must have made him bleed then. So it’s pretty absurd to enforce the bleeding rule without also enforcing the rules that should precede it like penalizing whoever caused the bleeding. If they weren’t gonna call the double minor for McDavid, they should have let Hughes stay on the ice and just ignored both infractions altogether rather than arbitrarily enforce

[@CometWasHere]

I’m an Oilers fan and I agree with you. Calls were missed on both sides and it impacted both teams. McDavids high sticks would have helped Canuck’s a lot if he was off, but Oilers also do great on a power play, so the missed calls made them miss scoring chances they could have had. Just overall the refing needs to be better, it think it’s better for it to be called tight then little scattered calls like this

[@KptKrunch9481]

@@XxCorvette1xX It's a safety issue - nothing to do with 'cause and affect' . Doesn't matter how you were cut, stick, skate, puck, bit your own lip - if you're bleeding you have to go off the ice until the bleeding is under control. Just like if your helmet comes off you have to immediate leave the ice and cannot engage in the play. That's one thing Hughes can control - DO YOUR CHINSTRAP UP Hughes.

[@patatepowa]

they're packing entire seasons of bad calls into single games.

[@ernestjensen3238]

If the refs made every call right Oilers would have runaway with the game

[@encycl07pedia-]

@@ernestjensen3238 run away* A runaway is a person who ran away.

[@ernestjensen3238]

@@encycl07pedia-if you don't comprehend what I'm saying say that

[@encycl07pedia-]

@@ernestjensen3238 If you can't say what you mean, don't type. Learn English and this won't happen to you.

[@warshawgameshd3432]

@@ernestjensen3238 Yea totally, Hyman hitting his own face with his stick is the same as Mcdavid hitting Hughes in the face for a double minor. The oilers were ass without Mcdavid on the ice he played 28 minutes lol. If he was out for 4 minutes, and canucks on pp they would have one. Let alone Kanes Slew foot on Hughes, or Ryan spearing hoglander only being a minor.

[@Ispy10101]

I dont care who you cheer for, the reffing has been shit in a spectacular 360 degree, 24/7 way.

[@Scottpel]

This specific game was unreal .... boarding left and right no call but calls a little hook or trip

[@groovygrover190]

It's been like this for near 30 years. Come on man!

[@Lol..No.]

It's like refs got instructions to "let them play" with physicallity but also sometimes call the most ticky tac shit.

[@OWlsfordshire]

It has to be done to get the games competitive. If they don't call the minor stuff you could end up with 1 team have 10-12+ more penalty mins than another.

[@stinkfinger630]

One term: game management. Becoming as scripted as WWE.

[@XxCorvette1xX]

@@OWlsfordshirewhat’s wrong with that? If one team is breaking rules more often than the other team, don’t they deserve more penalty minutes? That’s the whole point of penalties and power-plays, to disincentivize rule breaking, no?

[@OWlsfordshire]

@@XxCorvette1xX It becomes boring to watch. You have to balance competition with entertainment.

[@jeffreycairns767]

It's called in a way to make sure 1 team wins. Not only the game but series. We've seen it time and time again. I've been saying this for years but nobody listens until it's their team involved

[@kanuuker]

Sutherland should never be allowed to officiate a Vancouver playoff game again.His history with them is brutal. The team needs to file an official complaint with the league against him.

[@JunkBondTrader]

He shouldn't be allowed to referee an NHL game period.

[@roo6373]

100%

[@grousetheghoul2754]

Kind of like Mac Auley , who hates the Leafs.

[@TruthTheoristFLEsq]

Oilers have a brutal playoff history with him also. But we didn't hear this with CANUCKS HOMER KOZARI RIGGING IT IN GAME 1.

[@DeadCardinal]

Weird how they can spend like five minutes or more to determine if the play was offside by a few millimeters but coaches can’t challenge to have a play reviewed for injury. Especially serious slashes, trips and boardings

[@sshysterr9075]

Never did I think I would see a guy get a penalty for getting speared in between the legs. Insane. Kelly should be fired.

[@CKC298]

Yea that’s some high key Shoresy shit

[@1zumiez8]

As you saw he punished the cause and effect. He took Hoglander out with interference (2min) and then Ryan spearing (2min) and put em both in the box. Stop being fucking delusional. Two penalties infront of your eyes and you see one? Fucking bullshit, cupcake

[@Silverity]

The idea of "we won't make calls and just let them play" doesn't seem to work, it simply leads to inconsistency and upset people on both sides. If they want the playoffs to be under looser or milder officiating I wish they'd draw up a proper set of guidelines because this wishy-washy take on it messes with the game.

[@Chosenlawman]

Call the game by the book - The Hockey Guy

[@VioletDeliriums]

it is also the cause of the fights in many cases

[@kwaty]

@@Chosenlawmanand 50% trumps 20%. Oil will take that everyday!

[@philipcoggins9512]

I always hated that. My coaches always told me that if we lost the game because of one single call was or wasn't made, it was our fault for being in that situation. That being said, of the has to be near 1000 games that I played from 6-21, from House league to AAA to Juniors, the number of games my team lost due to one call made or missed can be counted on one hand...

[@ernestjensen3238]

Worse then just playing there calling inconsistent penalties

[@foskco87]

As a Vancouver fan I thought the reffing was absolutely brutal on the Canucks, but honestly after watching this video, they were just brutal in general. Both teams got hosed. I still think the Hughes high stick one was the worst but yeah... officiating in the NHL is getting to be horrendous, in fact in many professional sports the officials just seem to be ruining the game.

[@j.r.6142]

Any wonder the officials are surprisingly brutal just as the gambling companies and betting has become all pervasive and legal?

[@KptKrunch9481]

Thanks refreshing to hear - as an Oilers fan I wish all the calls were made, we do have a record setting PP. Trust me, the Canucks are much better off with the 'letting them play' style of officiating

[@my3dviews]

He didn't even mention McDavid getting tripped into the boards after scoring. That could have lead to a serious injury.

[@duaneday5474]

​@@my3dviewsMcDavid was going over 30 mph. Dirty play.

[@kangstasheez1161]

@@duaneday5474 Canucks fans are fucking delusional, their whole gameplan to stop McDavid is interference. One missed high stick and they're somehow feeling like they're getting fucked over. We were something like 21st in the league in powerplay opps, we don't get beneficial officiating, WE NEVER FUCKING HAVE. Go back and look at the stats, we're always bottom of the league in PP opps. The leagues knows we have the deadliest powerplay so they think it's better to 'let them play' while McDavid gets mauled. If we had a penalty parade every game we beat the fucking brakes off of most teams, Canucks would be done in 4 if that's the way they want to play it.

[@mysl1234]

Fire Kelly Sutherland 🔥 this video just proved that he can't do the job.

[@mattm8108]

Dude also missed the St. Louis tripping in 2019 that might’ve cost Boston the cup

[@Wulfgrym]

Referee, Kelly Sutherland. Guys got it out for the Canucks. He’s publicly stated that he’s tougher on the Canucks because he doesn’t want to be seen as favouring his local team. That was him waving off Hughes bleeding face and Hoglander getting speared/slashed in the nuts with a 2 min minor. The guy has been instrumental in the Canucks losing key games. The fact that he’s still a referee is mind boggling.

[@normthompson923]

Judging by the thumbs up few are listening my friend.Perhaps if we make the next series and Kelly screws us over again for a bigger loss others may get your point.Go Canucks!

[@Jrrobins99]

The refs had no consistency this game for either team calling weak penalties and missing blatant ones just a shit show by the refs but at this point its got to be pretty damn common

[@Dawg476]

Oilers had an absolute ton of non calls too. I agree tho the refs need to grow a pair, I know that refs hate “trying not to effect the game” but at a certain point not making calls effect’s the game. Also this new era is about offence and why would the NHL not love offensive explosion’s in the playoffs. Could have been 10 PP’s each team with how they weren’t calling stuff.

[@peskymenplops]

As an Oilers fan I totally agree, I hate how the stuff that is actually dangerous gets ignored to then call little hooks to even up calls. So many dangerous hits were thrown, and just ignored. Like right off the bat Nurse boards Peterson no call, and then the powerplay they get is off a weak stick infraction. Beyond frustrating, especially hearing teams report how beat their players are by the end of playoffs.

[@Jrrobins99]

@@peskymenplops yeah all those really dangerous penalties should have been called like petey getting slammed into the board or um i forgot his name on your team getting into the boards head first and yet they call penalties on less dangerous plays for both teams its just dumb and at this point both fanbases coming out this series no matter who wins will have one common enemy. The Refs

[@Sankoz29]

@@peskymenplopsyeah and what is mind blowing is that the nut shot only was 2 min and not even a fine from NHL player safety, that just opens the door for big Z to absolutely rock McDavid in the nuts and only get 2 min :)

[@wesleybrown3266]

it really does ruin the playoffs for me, like what game are we playing when your not calling it by the rules?

[@BahamutBreaker]

I usually make fun of fans who fixate on the referees or blame the officials when the fan’s favorite team loses. However, it really does appear that the refs crapped the bed, aggressively, in that Canucks v. Oilers game. Really embarrassing for the NHL.

[@joeprice8163]

Same here. It normally balances itself and there usually aren't blatant dangerous calls missed. Yes, there were calls missed both ways but it did seem to favour the Oilers. The NHL may have a reffing problem but the refs definitely have a Sutherland problem.

[@kangstasheez1161]

@@joeprice8163 Did you even watch the video dumb dumb? It was 9-5 in favour of the Canucks, that's including the double minor on the missed high stick.

[@jeremygustafson1917]

@@joeprice8163 I have to disagree with you. The refs have been terrible for many of the past 5-10 seasons and progressively getting worse. Only reason it ever "balanced out" was due to refs trying to make the number of penalties more even. I use to ref for a decade, and was looking at reffing college hockey until I realized they don't look to call the game fairly, they look to control the game management. The collegiate official trainers i met with and the summer ref seminars I went to would put up specific examples in which if you followed the rule book and called the penalties correctly by the book, they would tell you that was the incorrect call because you would piss too many fans/players off. Rather, they instructed us to call games to make them more competitive, to make even up calls, and to try to call as little as possible in OT or last few minutes. I always knew they let a little more go as the age range got older, but I never expected to hear from referee coordinators that assign you games to blatantly ignore obvious calls until it happened.

[@JT-wn1kj]

These refs need to be fired.

[@jeffreycairns767]

Nope, they're doing a great job

[@jimjohnson5317]

@@jeffreycairns767 you're the only person that says they're doing a good job out of hundreds of comments. I guess you're right and everyone else is wrong.

[@jeffreycairns767]

@jimjohnson5317 I've been complaining about the refs for YEARS now and all I ever got was "typical, blame the refs" and "cry baby". Funny how NOW it's suddenly legit because it happened to your team?!?! I talked about the officiating for ALL teams, especially Canadian teams, yet all anybody could focus on was what team I cheered for. I guess they were doing a great job then so it must still be true today

[@AmpliphyHD]

@@jeffreycairns767 sounds like you like it now because the officiating is benefitting your team lol

[@jeffreycairns767]

@@AmpliphyHD 1. Neither are my team, and 2. Read my other comment on this thread

[@quakzl181]

Canucks fan here fire the refs the calls both ways were awful and the nhl needs to fix the consistency issue

[@Dawg476]

Yeah I feel for the Canucks a little bit but acting like they never benefited from this is delusional.

[@kirillthethrilll]

@@Dawg476acting like the oilers don’t benefit from calls and non calls every game is delusional tbh

[@Dawg476]

@@kirillthethrilll I’m saying that both teams benefit/ don’t benefit from it. Both teams had tons of non calls that should have been called that’s all I’m saying but yea there needs to be more calls being made.

[@Apoch86]

@@kirillthethrilll who's acting like the oilers don't benefit from non-calls?? surely you couldn't read from Dawg's comment, that he implied the Oilers didn't benefit? All he implied was that the Canucks also benefited from some of the non-calls... stop being so emotionally fragile... he was trying to be somewhat sympathetic

[@gkarenko9593]

I'm an Oiler fan and I totally agree. The sad thing is that, if they aren't calling penalties, you have to cheat to keep up with the other team. Then there are more uncalled penalties.

[@mevdocherty]

the incompetence looks deliberate at this point

[@GretaThanos]

It’s not incompetence… they are fixing the games.

[@paulr3753]

@@GretaThanos you're dumb af if you believe that

[@MommaLotus1]

Thank you. Not just this game it's rampant in the whole playoffs.

[@Gl4ssCannon]

Terrible officiating and a silent but obvious ban on fighting results in dirty plays and dangerous injuries. The nhl is a faint shadow of its former self.

[@isaacbacka8731]

Hell fuckin yea, bring the fights back. Some of the best hockey we had this year was late season games with line brawls and all that good shit

[@paulwells4203]

No fighting... next will be a ban on stating a player's weight due to body shaming. They no longer state a players weight in Aussie rules football for that reason flol. Pretty soon a Gordie Howe hat trick will be a catty comment about a players hair, an insult about how shabby a playoff beard is and a bitch slap...

[@ostrichtakeover1764]

are you guys not watching hockey? fightings going up, theres more fighting this year than 5 years ago

[@paulwells4203]

@@isaacbacka8731 I remember back in the day every bar we went into had Don Cherry's Rock 'em sock 'em hockey fights videos running on the big tv monitors in a continuous loop 👍

[@matth3903]

Kane was a slewfoot, he also did it to Zadorov on his first shift of the game. That shit needs to get called.

[@darkphoenix2]

They also have a "players don't respect each other's health and safety" problem

[@ratedRblazin420]

Good, neither does the NFL and that's what makes these leagues the best. You can't play sports and make that kind of money while at the same time 'respecting' each other. Go watch baseball if that's what you want, we don't want your kind here.

[@user-mn8rg6he4y]

@@ratedRblazin420Sorry about your E.D. Have you tried Viagra?

[@jsquared1013]

@@ratedRblazin420 what a shitty take. He's not talking about being nice and playing patty cake with the opposing team, he's talking about players doing egregious, dirty plays that are HIGHLY dangerous to the well-being of other players. High stick to the face, boarding someone head-first, etc. The kind of shit that sends people to the hospital with permanent, life-altering injuries. You can be tough on the other teams and try to make them feel pain without doing dangerous things that are borderline intent to injure.

[@5ayes12]

Sutherland has no intelligence in his eyes

[@borismuller86]

The Canucks always lose when he officiates.

[@jacki630]

Can’t stand him

[@henryfurman28]

It got worse. The refs just missed an obvious goaltender interference, helping their teammates- the Florida Panthers- to a 3-2 goal lead and ultimately a 3-1 series lead. TERIBLE.

[@lxbronx6]

Yeah I wanted Florida to win but that was wild. I thought Boston would’ve gotten the challenge their way for sure.

[@edited1325]

It’s on another level of bs this year

[@GregScholfield]

The refs neither know how to call any hockey game nor how to settle things down after they botch calling a hockey game. We have the best sport but the worst league...

[@j.r.6142]

They don't care about Canadian teams, regardless it's American teams or bust for money in the playoffs

[@remimk]

@@j.r.6142 It's just that now they don't know who to screw over, since we're both Canadian teams. so they screwed us both just for good measure

[@johnholmes8919]

well said you nailed it

[@michaelsmith6394]

gonna need a new video for game 4 of bruins. Never have I ever seen worse officiating in my life.

[@michaelold6695]

And another one for last nights Canucks Oilers game, bad calls both ways again

[@dereklacroix3768]

Its almost like the billions spent on sports betting might be effecting the outcome of the games. Who would have thunk it

[@alexvojan2758]

Bingo!

[@LukeHolmes-br5rd]

there so bad, this needs to be in the eyes of NHL. Get this under controll

[@crazyralph6386]

It’s the NHL that’s behind these atrocious calls. Bettman literally has the power to make or break a team, just like he did last year with Vegas.

[@JacobHilmoe-xg4dl]

Situational Reffing isn’t even deniable at this point

[@christopherharte4741]

The only ones that really annoy me us when its right in front of a referee and there is no call, its like dude where the heck are you looking? They are literaly standing 5 feet away in front of you

[@johnfive2440]

Exactly, I think some of these referees are getting too used to watching the game instead of a officiating it

[@OliverRyan-br2li]

as a canucks fan, the oilers got the worst of it for the "maybe" penalties but we got the worst of it for the obvious missed calls

[@KalebC4]

I’m still pissed that Hughes got sent to the bench but McDavid didn’t get sent to the box 😭

[@KptKrunch9481]

@@KalebC4 You can't be on the ice if you're bleeding

[@QuesoBueso]

@@KptKrunch9481No shit. But the fact they never reviewed it is honestly disappointing. The leagues had a reffing problem for a while now lol

[@KptKrunch9481]

@@QuesoBueso Oh that I agree with - especially cdn based teams playing US based teams. Personally, I can live with this game - not because we won, but because of all the calls missed on both sides. What I can't stand is inconsistency, if you're going to call a penalty call it on both teams every time it happens, don't pick and choose. I hope next game is a bit more consistent and they crack down early so the players know they can't get away with this stuff - from both teams

[@QuesoBueso]

@@KptKrunch9481 I feel they’re picking and choosing purely so this series goes longer. Can’t call too many penalties on Nucks, or else Oilers power play will score. Can’t call McDavid off, because then the Nucks will score. It’s disappointing even if remotely accurate that they’d ref it like this, hopefully I’m completely wrong 🤞

[@joelsteve94]

Of all the Hockeytubers I follow, this is the fairest and most thorough breakdown of the game and reffing. Nice work on it

[@cnam1258]

Agreed.

[@lobear3074]

I don’t think it really would have changed the outcome of the Florida vs Boston game. But the Vancouver vs Edmonton one was crazy how close it was, so every call in the game really made the difference.

[@KptKrunch9481]

shots were 15 to 2 in third - no, game wasn't close, just the score was close. Canucks were totally dominated in third (thought game was pretty much even in first two periods though)

[@johnjohnnston3498]

@@KptKrunch9481 Of course it was close and in fact Canucks likely would have won, 4 minute pp would probably be a goal. We got outplayed, but it was an OT game, so wtf does that mean. Canucks always have lowest shots, that is kind of our motto and why we have highest shooting % in league.

[@KptKrunch9481]

@@johnjohnnston3498 LOL JJ - ok. Greatest PP of all time and you think you'd of won? remember, there were more missed calls from your side than ours. We'd of ended up wtih more PP's if all the calls were made, plus rested McD. I'm down for that ;)

[@lobear3074]

@@KptKrunch9481 Yeah, it just wasn't like the Boston game, when I was watching, sure Vancouver didn't get a lot of shots, but its not like they were having a complete meltdown like Boston. Canucks still played good defense, kept the game close, and denied those 15 shots. They even played ok in OT, it was honestly just a dumb mistake by Vancouver, but maybe if Vancouver sent more pucks at the net they would get a similar result, they were trying to be to fancy with their plays, especially against Skinner, they don't need to do anything fancy, just apply Pressure on net. But I still think the calls would have made a massive difference to such a tight game, imo.

[@KptKrunch9481]

@@lobear3074 I'm not sure about that . This has been the Oilers MO all season long and how the parlayed that into a 16 game win streak. Its kind of like the old (70's/early 80's) Washington Redskins football team with John Riggins. See, that team would run the big Rigg at you 30 - 35 times a game. In the first half Riggins would be doing well to get a 3 yard gain on a play, but come fourth quarter, with an exhausted defense, the big Rigg could not be stopped. Oilers play the same way, McDavid et all attack with speed and through the first couple of periods they pretty much got / get handled but come the third the defense is exhausted from trying to keep up their pace. Shots were 15 to 2 in the third, that wasn't an accident, Canucks didn't stop playing, they were tired. Oilers played a really crappy game 1 and someway somehow held a 4 to 1 lead at one point. It's also pretty funny how the Canuck fans have zero respect for Skinner - you all think your backup goalie, and your backups backup, are way better than him. Demko, IMO, should win the Vezina no doubt about it. But your advantage is gone now. We have the edge in goal, you just don't see that yet. EIther way, series is far from over and its' going be a slugfest for both teams.

[@FalloutUrMum]

Trouba gets away with trying a flying elbow at Necas' head, meanwhile Skjei gets the weakest crosschecking call, gets a penalty for bracing before he got hit, and Svechnikov gets a penalty for being tripped.

[@galaxyrend]

lots of missed calls on both sides, but the missed double minor on mcdavid probably couldve changed the outcome of the game I think. Never a good time when officiating potentially messes with game wins

[@Marixa1979]

You did see that the exact same thing happened to Hyman earlier in the game on a high stick from Zadorov, right? Bleeding and everything. The difference is that one fan base is filling their diapers and the other is just used to it.

[@KptKrunch9481]

Ummm I disagree. All that would of done is given McD a nice rest and he'd of done McDavid things when he got out of box. Plus, any little infraction done by the Canucks during that PP would of been called thanks to the missed high stick on Hyman earlier. That's how this goes.

[@johnjohnnston3498]

@@Marixa1979 Hymans was his own stick, making it even more pathetic of him bitching.

[@Marixa1979]

@@johnjohnnston3498 That is the stupidest thing I've seen yet. It was 100% Zadorov's stick hitting him in the face when Zadorov attempted to lift his stick, missed and hit him in the face. At least get that right. That's like saying Hughes purposely connected his face with McDavid's stick to try and draw a call.

[@ertomoon]

​@@johnjohnnston34982:57 watch the video, clearly not his own stick

[@LowgaenSchmidt]

I've got a friend who's a Redwings fan and also plays hockey for a men's league in his spare time. He has been furious with the awful officiating this season to the extent that he think a class action lawsuit needs to be brought up and the officials should be investigated

[@ConReese]

NHL Rule: 60.3 High sticking Double-minor Penalty - When a player carries or holds any part of his stick above the shoulders and makes contact with his opponent’s neck, face or head so that injury results, in the manner of drawing blood or otherwise, the Referee shall assess a double-minor penalty. Referees making this call shall have the option (but not the obligation) to review video of the play for the purpose of confirming (or not) their original call on the ice, and, in particular, whether the stick causing the apparent injury was actually the stick of the Player being penalized. Not only did the refs not call the double minor. But in the rule itself allows them the ability to review the footage. So when the ref saw blood it was entirely in his power to call that double minor and he chose not to. That was a deliberate choice made by the ref

[@Ispy10101]

Yep, which is why everyone is upset. A double minor to McDavid would have possibly been game changing.

[@Raamayan1]

Exactly, this is the main point that pissed me off and made me doubt the refs bias.

[@SpicyPotatoe]

I think McDavid got away unjustly, but note the "stick above shoulders"part of the rule. The whole rule hinges on that phrase, and in the video McDavid's stick is always below his shoulders. Hughes is leaning down when he takes it. Maybe the refs interpreted it that way? Still a wild on-call though. Edit: taking another look at the video, it's debatable that "any part" didn't stay below his shoulders. Needs different angles. Either way, still a shocking missed call.

[@ConReese]

@@SpicyPotatoe yeah but it doesn't matter what actually happened. The problem is the ref only saw the blood and even though that is evidence of high sticking atleast enough to investigate it (which was their right to do) they chose not to

[@robsmith2566]

Agreed. Both Hyman and Hughes were hit with high sticks with no call.

[@telemantid]

I'm a Canucks homer, but after a while it was obvious even to me that the inept referees were completely impartial. I don't think they even knew which team was which. The Hyman and Hughes non-calls could have easily been phoned in by the star chamber in Toronto. Sheesh. They need to change the rules around what calls can be remotely made. ......... GCG!

[@thomasnewman8010]

When betting on sports arrived in Las Vegas , refs started sucking even more.

[@user-qj2yb9es4b]

I think Refs should be suspended for poor officiating. They need backup Refs that are willing to step in and call games right and fair.

[@kittypaws520]

Oooooh boy we’re gonna need an extension to this video after bruins - panthers game 4

[@mr.unicorn8847]

The inconsistency is what pisses me off. In the Nashville series, they reviewed a high stick to get the right call after the fact. No call on the original play, but they went upstairs and deemed I think a major penalty. They CAN review it, but didn’t.

[@TheM.F.]

I believe next year coaches will be able to challenge penalties. Hopefully that's true

[@stevocanuck]

best video explaining all the missed calls on this game. i thought it was all against the canucks but they all seemed pretty even

[@BondandBourne]

Im here after Game 4 of Bruins Panthers. How that crosscheck on Coyle and goaltender interference on Swayman challenge was overruled is beyond me. Do the refs not understand the rule book anymore?

[@ManiacAware]

I don't mind the missed weak hacks, slashes, hooks and slightly late hits (that aren't from behind), because at the end of the day both teams are expecting it, but the high sticks and boarding penalties have to be called to keep the game safe and prevent injuries. Typically the refs do act according to 'two wrongs make a right' which is fair in a Hockey game, but they are really dropping the ball with regards to consistency

[@gordiebrown4878]

All round bad officiating, both sides , especially 2 boarding missed calls , and high stick that drew blood, zebras bad😢

[@GuyDudeman]

It seems as though they rely on mental tallies trying to keep track like "oh we missed high stick on Oilers and they aren't happy so now we have to miss a high stick on Van to even it out" kind of thing. Sutherland has called out how much he hates embellishment too so either he'll: 1. call against that, or 2. not call the "penalty" on the other or 3. call both

[@Skroskznik]

Thank you man I have being preaching the extremely poor officiating not just through these games but all playoffs, it has just been flat out bad in every series

[@roo6373]

I've been watching hockey for 3+ decades. I've never seen such biased officiating in my life. The NHL wants McDavid to get a cup so bad. McDavid slash, Kane slew foot, Kane Boarding, Nurse spear, Hyman crosscheck. Not one was called. Yet the Oilers have had a powerplay in the first 60 seconds in 3 of the 5 games so far. SMH

[@Johnamekin]

If I was a coach Id ask refs "So uh can we do it or not? Because holy moly, if we can, we will as it gives us a massive advantage and odd man rushes all night long...and if we cant...can you call it?"

[@tylercassidy5720]

Dakota joshua had the guys stick through his helmet for 50 seconds and the ref was staring at him like "no high stick"

[@Marixa1979]

It was a follow-through on a shot. Keep up.

[@KptKrunch9481]

Because it wasn't a high stick - the stick needs to hit the player, not his equipment. I've seen that before - Sam Gagner had the butt of a stick in his helmet and it took quite a long time to dislodge it - that was actually the proper call - as weird as that is

[@cathousuper]

Refs should be investigated after that. Holy smokes. Buddies trynna hit a parlay with the missed calls

[@TheKneeG]

Referees : Kelly Sutherland, Eric Furlatt Linesmen : Brandon Gawryletz, Kiel Murchison

[@nateballou3321]

That goalie interference call on Lauko was ridiculous!!?? Wtf is Lauko supposed to do there!!?? Hes going hard to net and gets ridden into the goalie while being held and pulled down!? Should've been matching penalties at least!? It Shouldve been either matching penalties or no penalties at all!!?? They really need to fix goalie interference and come up with a clear definition of what exactly constitutes goalie interference cuz theyve called goals back for goalie interference b4 that really were good goals but they took em away cuz the goalie barely touched guy in ftont trying to screen him and sometimes its even been the goalies kinda initiating the contact!!?? I think NHL needs to add 1-2 officials but have them sitting up top with access to replays and their main job should be double checking the calls made on the ice that way they can make sure they make the correct calls!!?? Its absolutely unbelievable how the refs can miss so many obvious penalties especially since lots of em happen right in front of refs, and u can see refs looking right at the play!!??

[@JH22533]

I appreciate the review of the missed calls. Would be good to see this for every series of the worst missed calls. (Video idea?) Would help fanbases realize officiating is brutal against all teams.

[@ericlunger8090]

Boarding hits are dangerous and must be called. Seriously

[@jsquared1013]

I used to be of the mindset that the modern game is simply too fast for the refs to keep up, but holy moly some of those calls were right in front of the ref and with the puck nearby to boot. I'm of the opinion that a third ref on the ice would be both impractical and not a solution, as "faster eyes" are what is needed, not extra set of "slow" eyes (e.g. video replay with slower motion / ability to see multiple angles is better than human eyes in real time trying to cover all aspects of the play). Increase the scope of what the video review is allowed to review, and enable and _encourage_ video-review refs in the review booth to radio down to the game refs when they see missed calls, _especially_ when it's a hazardous one like a heads-first boarding or stick to the face.

[@mebmakes]

That highstick to the face in front of the net with Zadorov and Hyman, is *Hyman's* stick.

[@ajbolt7]

That Hyman flinch a full second after the actual contact is kinda hilarious

[@wadeharten6600]

Referees will always influence the results of a game but this is getting ridiculous.

[@cobra646]

great breakdown. I don't think you'd find anyone who would disagree on the Mcdavid high stick being a blatant miss.

[@chanahyingchan5070]

The Canucks had the same problem with Kelly Sutherland back in 2011 against the Boston bruins. Same thing will happen here. Canucks loosing to the Edmonton Oilers.

[@carletonrutherford1799]

LOL! It's "losing", not "loosing". And don't try to tell me that was a typo, you think you spelled it correctly. Also, after game 3, it's 2 - 1 Canucks. They're not loosing yet.

[@deltagolavista1]

Remember, according the NHL, these are the best 8 refs in the world officiating playoff games.

[@fillpereira]

Have they ever called 4 penalties in a row for the same team in the playoffs? I haven't seen it.

[@hi-peeps-]

I also want to bring up, Bruins vs Panthers calls were terrible too. To punch Marchand in the face and not get a penalty is just stupid. Also in an earlier game, we got the penalty when they pushed us into Swayman?? There was also a few bad calls today’s game (like an interference that wasn’t called), there’s definitely a problem.

[@Dillon41689]

A referee problem because of a sports betting problem deciding how refs make calls in a game. Sports betting has made sports illegitimate

[@jansenwilliams3182]

If Kane kept his left skate on the ice, I wouldn’t consider a slew foot. But his left skate lifts and goes forward in a swing-up motion, so slew foot all day to me

[@brodieb5066]

Hockey reffing looking like a joke in the world of sports in 2024. No wonder the sporting world has little respect for hockey.

[@Bullshirt1983]

The refs are at it again... game four in the Oilers series is even worse than the third. Silovs literally dropped his stick and grabbed Ryan's stick with an empty net and they didn't call a thing.. Crosschecks with zero consistency.

[@pluveo8059]

Wild that this somehow got worse the next day yet here we are. The justifications for not calling back the Bennett goal are truly pathetic, let alone that people have been suspended for less than what he did to Marchand.

[@christopherrichards9196]

I literally live every day FOR your new nhl video. Please post one about the rangers asap 😭😭😭

[@girardedward]

2:28 Ref standing right there is a blatant no call.

[@GrizzlyOrganx]

Kelly Sutherland is just as bad as Tim Peel honestly.. The only difference between the two is Peel was caught in the act on a hot mic. I mean in reality you’re always going to have refs like that sadly, The league fucked up on there end. They should have re-evaluated and re-assessed that situation with a better vetting/selection process a long time ago. There’s a lot of little calls or minor penalties that could have went either way. When it comes to blatant calls where there is clear intent it’s honestly mind boggling especially when it’s right in front of the officials eyes.

[@joeyst-denis8537]

Good to see someone shedding light on this topic! Hopefully your copyright issues resolve, unless the "NHL" is just that damn petty 😂 Right?

[@zwhtan]

One thing that always drives me crazy though is the chicken wing stick grab that ends up being called a hooking. Because hockey players know this move, and it is really hard to detect, but it happens all the time.

[@Marixa1979]

Don't stick your stick there.

[@zwhtan]

@Marixa1979 Well, if you played hockey, you would know that your stick ends up at waist level in many situations providing a great opportunity to chicken wing. If you look at how many almost high sticks and almost hooks there are in every game, there are dozens.

[@KevinBrevin]

Back to back videos from Next Man Up and Eck about the reffing in these games.

[@SniffPum]

the calls against Boston in that game were comically bad too.

[@wutzittoya]

Ref channeled his inner Stevie Wonder to miss that high stick from McDavid

[@Scorpio_Dances]

The refs in the WHL championship having no clue what they are doing either

[@CJM51392]

I wonder how many flying elbows Trouba has to attempt before he gets a match penalty for intent to injure. Why even have match penalties for intent to injure if throwing out a chicken wing every time you are going to miss a hit is totally allowable.

[@m7d7j7]

This was sent to a former fan the other day in my attempt to describe my view: "As you know, soccer is not my game. Anyway, years ago, while in the Washington metropolitan area, a friend and I were out for a walk in Silver Spring. A game was about to start, and we decided to watch. Now this was just happenstance. We did not know the players nor the teams. But the officiating was so bad that we got up and left--in disgust." That applies to the NHL. Goodbye.

[@myronachtman4304]

It's nothing more than beer league hockey, without any refs. I no longer watch any live NHL games, but I enjoy watching videos like this one. They reinforce my decision to not watch any live games.

[@catalan500_8]

I get that being a ref is a tough job, especially in a game like this, but you best believe imma start rioting when you can’t even get BLATANTLY OBVIOUS calls right like what the heII. If you miss a few calls I get it, everybody is human, but when you can’t get even the blatantly obvious ones right that’s not human error that’s just you being trash at officiating

[@FrostedIsGang]

I don’t know if anyone noticed but Ian Cole has definitely not been playing great. I get that the 2 goals that went in off him were accidental but even without that he’s been giving pucks away and just hasn’t been himself in this series.

[@papatango2362]

Add Dallas’s denied goal against Colorado in game 6.

[@coolvi6015]

Agreed. The stick to the skate as McDavid scored the tying goal in the third period in Game 2 EDM @ VAN was ridiculous. Guy's got two steps on you and the only result of swiping your stick as hard as possible at the feet is tripping him up and hoping they crash into boards skates first; that is a clear attempt to injure. That penalty needs to be called regardless of the result of the scoring attempt.

[@polkhigh3333]

NHL reffing and its stupidity of doubling down on mistakes is why the NHL will remain the fourth most popular sport in NA. Even soccer is getting more popular.

[@chriz9959]

with that hit, peterson was simply compressed by 5 inch and his size now has to be adjusted on the nhl page

[@somerandomguy4112]

The playoffs are rigged

[@oldswede9307]

Ive been watching hockey for over 60 years and the reffing gets worse every year. Its disgusting to say the least. I refuse to believe they dont choose sides

[@giff74]

Oh the mysteries of NHL officiating! Good video to kind of sum things up about no one really knowing what is, or is not, a penalty these days.

[@duaneday5474]

At the end of the second Zadorov backed into Mcdavid preventing McDavid from getting his stick on the puck to avoid the icing. The refs reviewed the clock on the icing giving Vancouver an offensive faceoff with 2.5 seconds left and a chance to go up 4-2 heading into the 3rd. Good on you for covering the play. I haven't seen other channels include the play in their review. I saw it as interference on McDavid during the livestream. The icing should have been waved off at the very least. Turned out to be a nothing play. Another example of poor decision making or incompetence by the refs. The only positive is that the bad calls were fairly even. Half of the battle winning the cup is surviving the refs and not making excuses

[@zerubbablestranger6970]

Having played coached and refereed for decades, the problem has always been CONSISTENCY! Yes, referees are human and they make mistakes, I made a few myself, but…. With so much on the line, money-power-prestige the officiating must be better and as was proved a few years ago, referees have favorites and that’s still happening whether it’s believed or not. I was seriously injured in a pick up game because I was viciously cross checked into the boards and the amazing thing was it was done by “a friend” but he actually thought it was my fault! My point is as I learned in mites, you see the numbers don’t touch him! PERIOD! It must finally come down to ALL hits from behind need to be penalized, PERIOD! Our game will suffer greatly if a star is seriously injured because of a hit from behind. This should be done NOW!

[@emperoralvis6559]

The absolute worst atrocity of this game was that Suter “interference” call that McDavid drew. The absolute worst, softest call I’ve seen in the playoffs, and the idea of just letting these 2 play went entirely out the window.

[@vlind16]

Once I saw the multiple goals called back during the lightning series I knew it was gonna be rough playoffs. It’s every series for every team at this point

[@six4foxtrot884]

I’m an oilers fan and the Hughes miscall even pissed me off. It’s insane how the refs are affecting the game in this series.

[@crazyralph6386]

The officiating was atrocious in Colorado last night too. The zebras tried so hard to screw Dallas, it wasn’t funny.

[@mcdob69]

“Have at it boys”…… back from my nascar days

[@ThatBlairDude27]

as an outsider its fair to call the to missed boarding calls even but it should never be like that

[@north3606]

This happens EVERY year, not that Canuck fans would know 😏