Are some coach’s challenges offside?
New rule not going away, however, some tweaks may be needed to improve the system
“Does it matter?”
That was the refrain of Leafs coach Mike Babcock after his team won two coach’s challenges in a row after goals had been scored on offside plays that had been missed, but lost the game anyway.
To his credit, he kept up the refrain the very next game, when the Leafs had a goal called back on an offside and won the game anyway. What seemed galling to Babcock, and others, is that the offside call had little to do with the goal.
“An offside that you miss by a fraction of an inch that caused a goal, a goal that had nothing really to do with being offside, does it matter?” Babcock asked. “I don’t know if it matters. Should those two goals that we called back really count? I thought they were good plays. I thought they should count. That’s just me.”
Players and coaches around the NHL are questioning whether the coach’s challenge — reviewing goals when the play might have been offside, or goals where the goalie might have been interfered with — is working.
“There’s a few (challenges) you throw out there you’re not betting your life on,” said Carolina coach Bill Peters. “If it gets the call right, I think it’s good. There are a lot of times too you don’t know which way it’s going to go. You watch some of the reviews, it goes one way or another, and half the room goes: ‘I can’t believe that’s a goal.’
“On the offside, we’re getting down to: ‘Is his foot in the air? Is the toe of his skate touching?’ ”
The rule will be reviewed by the board of governors in March, but it’s reviewed almost nightly in the NHL, a league starved for goals. There’s a feeling the coach’s challenge has changed the game in slight ways.
Coaches worry that linesmen are letting close calls go at the blue line, knowing that if it was offside, the goal can easily be called back. Some complain the review — on especially close plays — slows the game down, especially for the team that thinks it scored.
Goalies, too, see the play in front of them changing.
“I feel like guys are almost taking advantage of crashing the net more,” Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier said. “Or the defence is pushing the guy into the goalie. I feel like there’s more contact this year because of (the review). It’s good and bad. I think it slows down the game quite a bit, but it saves a few goals, too.”
It’s doubtful the challenge will be rescinded; everyone likes the idea of good goals counting. But it might get tweaked. Might there be a statute of limitations — seven seconds, say — between a missed offside call and a goal? Or maybe the offside rule might be changed so that skates over the blue line count as much as skates on the blue line.
The Flyers lost two challenges in one game. On one, the opposition goalie was messed with and a Flyers goal was called back. On the other, their goalie was messed with, and the goal stood. Confusion all around.
“The game of hockey is imperfect,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “Those calls are going to end up being imperfect. That’s how I approach it.”
Cleared for contact: Bakersfield, Calif., is about to become a hockey hotbed. Oilers centre Connor McDavid, who has been cleared for full contact, will report to Edmonton’s top farm team, where he will practise but not participate in games.
“It feels like a long time,” McDavid said. “These last couple of weeks have been probably the longest, when you feel so good you want to play. But I’m being patient with it. Hopefully, the patience is rewarded at the end.” McDavid had five goals and seven assists in 13 games before breaking his collarbone. “I couldn’t be more excited to come back,” he said