Berube isn’t singing blues about blown call
In a playoff season where the NHL has already issued one apology to a losing team, the St. Louis Blues deserve the next one.
They got screwed. It’s not even up for debate. Erik Karlsson’s overtime winner, assisted by Gustav Nyquist and Diego Maradona, never should have counted. It was pure “Hand of God” stuff that referees Marc Joannette and Dan O’Rourke both whiffed on and it cost St. Louis a chance to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference final.
If anyone deserves a “Hey, man, we’re really sorry” from the NHL, it’s St. Louis after Timo Meier’s hand pass went uncalled, giving San Jose the victory on a play that should have been blown dead.
But they aren’t asking for one. In fact, they wanted nothing to do with the story when they met with the media Thursday to discuss the potentially series-changing events of the night before.
“You watch the game and the tape and all that,” said Blues coach Craig Berube. “We didn’t get the bounce. That’s how we look at it. We have to move on from it. We’ve moved on already. That game’s over.”
Asked if he’s heard anything from the league, which issued an apology to Vegas after an officiating blunder contributed to their Game 7 loss to San Jose, Berube laughed and shook his head.
“No, I don’t talk to the league,” he said. “There’s nothing to talk about. Seriously, it’s over with.”
To the outside world, San Jose’s run of officiating breaks is getting ridiculous. They got a five-minute power play on a phantom call that turned the tide in Game 7 against Vegas.
They had the tying goal in Game 7 against Colorado overturned on a ridiculous technicality that had nothing to do with the play.
And now they win Game 3 and take back home-ice advantage because four officials blew it on a non-reviewable play.
Head coach Pete DeBoer bristled at any suggestion the Sharks are getting lucky with all this. To dismiss 65 minutes of work because of one split-second hand pass, he said, is dead wrong.
“It irks me when you use words like that because this team has played four or five elimination games, not moments, games,” he said. “Twelve to 15 periods of elimination hockey against Vegas, against Colorado in Game 7, so I think it’s a ridiculous statement.
“Things happen so quickly on the ice. There are so many bodies flying around and there are split-second decisions. It’s easy to sit on the bench or look at a TV monitor and criticize and hold people accountable for errors that happen in milliseconds.
“You know what? We’ve found a way. And we’ve faced a lot of adversity. We’ve had calls go against us and we’ve had calls go for us and we’re still standing.”