Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff voiced his displeasure with the officials for several penalty calls during Monday’s loss in Calgary against the Flames.
His feelings about officiating certainly didn’t improve on Tuesday in Edmonton.
Rasmus Dahlin’s point shot in the second period appeared to hit the hand of teammate Alex Tuch before going to Sabres star Tage Thompson, who fired it home to give Buffalo what appeared to be a 2-0 lead.
But Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch challenged for what the team felt was a missed stoppage in play. After video review, the Situation Room ruled in favour of the Oilers.
“The Situation Room determined that Alex Tuch directed the puck to Tage Thompson with a hand pass at 10:23 of the first period (9:37 elapsed time) – one second prior to Thompsonâ€s goal. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 79,” the NHL wrote in a statement.
Rule No. 38.1 in the NHL’s rule book states: “In all Coachâ€s Challenge situations, the original call on the ice will be overturned if, and only if, a conclusive and irrefutable determination can be made on the basis of video evidence that the original call on the ice was clearly not correct. If a review is not conclusive and/or there is any doubt whatsoever as to whether the call on the ice was correct, the original call on the ice will be confirmed.”
In this case, the stoppage the Oilers were referring to was what they felt was a hand pass, which has been a hotly debated issue recently.
Rule 79.1 in the NHL rule book states: “A player shall be permitted to stop or ‘bat’ a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate, or has allowed his team to gain an advantage, and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obtained by a player of the offending team, either directly or deflected off any player or official. If, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, the puck has deflected off a playerâ€s hand, and no advantage has been gained by the team, it will not constitute a violation for the purpose of this rule.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a goal called back on a hand pass last Thursday, while the Columbus Blue Jackets lost a challenge for what they felt was a hand pass by the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Panthers forward Brad Marchand hit a flying puck with his hand behind the Blue Jackets’ net right before Seth Jones buried Florida’s second goal of the night.
Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason chose to challenge the play for a hand pass, but the puck was determined to have just deflected off Marchand after the NHL’s review, and the goal stood.
A livid Evason, whose team also had a goal called back because of a kicking motion, said the “entire game was a joke.”
As for the Lightning, a Nikita Kucherov goal was waved off after Brandon Hagel was deemed to have made a hand pass against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper referred to the call as “laughable.”
The Sabres, to their credit, maintained their composure on Tuesday and got the 2-0 lead back minutes later when Thompson scored a goal that counted.