Update (4:00 PM): Tom Benjamin reacts to the no-goal call and to the comparison being made between that play and the missed interference call in Game 1:
On the other hand, last night’s mistake was inexcusable. Kelly did make something up. He did not see Holmstrom interfere with Turco because there was no interference. The referee called something he did not see. We know he did not see it because he called something that did not happen.
Another difference: The goal in Game 1 was the Wings’ third in a game that finished 4-1 Detroit. It was not the game-winner and had little bearing on a game the Wings would have won anyway. Last night’s blown call came on the first goal of the game. Had it been allowed, the face of the game would have been changed. - Matt
Update (12:28 PM): Typo in title corrected. - Matt
Embarrassing. That’s the most polite way to describe Game 4. The waived off goal was easily in the top three worst calls I have ever seen.
If, as I believe, Kelly Sutherland was the center ice official, he had no business making that call when Dan O’Halloran was right there. I absolutely hate it when the center ice official makes a call that directly contradicts the referee who was right there. Am I wrong to remember that the play was initially ruled a goal? If it was, how could it just be overturned by the word of a man fifty feet away from the event?
Because the play did not occur in overtime, we cannot say with certainty that the blown call cost the Wings the win, but there can be no doubt that that goal would have changed the face of the game. Dallas has shown a mental weakness thus far in this series in that they crumble when scored on first. I have little doubt that the same thing would have happened again had the goal not been waived off in a fit of unadulterated idiocy by Sutherland. As it was, the blown call acted as a security blanket for the weak-minded Dallas team and gave them the mental fortitude to play actual hockey for one of the few times in this series.
Marty Turco, for whom I now have zero respect, is mouthing off about how that was a makeup call for the “missed” goaltender interference penalty on Holmstrom in Game 1. If so, I call that BS. This is a professional sports league, not some weak collection of pickup games. There should be no makeup calls. Makeup calls are bush league. In the National Hockey League, teams should be doing the making up, not the officials. It’s bad enough when it’s in the regular season and it’s a bad hooking call to make up for a bad tripping call. It’s a thousand times worse to do it in the Stanley Cup playoffs when the games mean everything.
If I were completely rational about this and didn’t have an irrational love for the game, the team, and the players, I would quit the NHL today. Why would I want to waste my time on a League that cannot ensure the quality of officiating that should be an inherent part of a top-tier professional sports league? Why would I want to waste my time on a League that disallows legitimate scoring? If I was rational about this, I wouldn’t. As it is, however, I’ll foolishly hold to this game, something I love and hate so much at the same time.
Gary Bettman should be embarrassed. He was at the game. I wonder what he thought when he saw that. Does he enjoy leading a League that is a joke to sports fans around the world? Waiving off legitimate goals is an embarrassment to the game. It really is.
It’s days like these that conspiracy theories almost start to make sense. Almost. I’m sure the NHL loves the fact that Game 5 is happening and that NBC will have the opportunity to broadcast it. But I don’t buy the idea that this was a Bettman-ordered result. That’s giving Kelly Sutherland too much credit.
If the goal was waived off an Holmstrom really was in the crease, I would be disappointed, but honest enough to admit the right call was made. But he wasn’t in the crease and the right call was not made.
The League has got to institute some kind of safeguard against that kind of thing. Why on earth is there no replay for that? Why can’t the replay booth look at the goal in the moments immediately following it being waived off (or allowed) and notify the on-ice officials before the puck is dropped? It wouldn’t even have to be a formal review period just so long as the review booth officials have the power to stop on-ice proceedings, a la NFL review booth officials in the final two minutes.
After that call was made, I was so angry I kept wishing Holmstrom would just run Turco over. If he’s going to get called for it, he might as well get his money’s worth. Thankfully, the Wings kept their emotions in check better than I did.
Kudos to the Stars for actually showing up to play last night. It’s good to know you’ve finally realized you’re in the Western Conference Finals. It’s just too bad you can’t have a win not sullied by a monumentally blown call. You outplayed the Wings in most phases of the game. Good for you. It won’t happen again.
Not only did Sutherland look stupid on the blown goal call, he and O’Halloran were oblivious to the Stars’ shenanigans all night. The officiating was terrible. Almost as bad as the waived off goal was the fact that Steve Ott got away with assault in the final seconds of the game. Of course, it was almost a moot point, but it’s the principle of the thing. He was brutalizing Tomas Holmstrom and got away scot free. To call Ott a donkey is an insult to good donkeys everywhere.
Aside from that, how many other times were Red Wings crosschecked or tripped in the process of taking a shot? Or blatantly interfered with? Also, how was Eriksson’s goal not waived off? The guy’s entire body was in the crease. I’m sure Osgood would have loved to have that space to move across, but it was occupied by a Dallas Star. Textbook goaltender interference.
All that said, the Wings had ample opportunity to overcome those difficulties, including the waived off goal. They allowed themselves to be outplayed last night and did not put forth the effort necessary to win. They will have to play better on Saturday and I have no doubt that they will. The Stars have gotten their win, but the Wings will have their series in Game 5.
