Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: NHL-Talk

How To Improve Bad Officiating

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 11:46 AM ET
Comments (3)

from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

The NHL is a reputation league, and refs also sometimes make flash judgments influenced by a player’s rep.

Best example: Dan O’Rourke calling Erik Karlsson a diver in a conversation with Ottawa coach Paul MacLean - nice work Rourkie.

At least MacLean has big brass ones and smashed the usual omerta by going public and ratting him out.

So in addition to having competence issues with certain refs - ie. Tim Peel, Stephane Auger and, most egregiously, Chris Lee - the NHL is dealing with complicated psychology.

There are no easy fixes to this, but there are a couple of things the NHL could do.

more

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Is Obstruction Back In Play?

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 10:13 AM ET
Comments (16)

from Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Welcome to the new NHL, which is beginning to resemble the old NHL.

Scoring is down, and obstruction again is becoming a common element of play. Referees, many Penguins said, are allowing the clutching and grabbing that became ingrained in the game a decade ago to resurface.

The Penguins are particularly unsettled by this because special teams have marked a significant part of their success this season. Lately, special teams play has been rare.

“I don’t necessarily think the play has gotten cleaner,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “(But) there are few power-play opportunities out there for every team.”

The Penguins averaged more than four power-play opportunities per game through the end of December. Since Jan. 1, they are averaging 2.76 power-play chances.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bringing Up The Old-School Stories

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:59 AM ET
Comments (4)

from Mike Brudenelli of the Detroit Free Press,

“When Bill (Ezinicki) turned pro, it started all over again,” Lindsay said. “He was traded to Boston, and one night we were playing in Detroit and he hit me over the brow with his stick, and there was blood all over the place. We didn’t have helmets or face masks then.

“Anyway, I thought I can’t let the guy get away with it, so I took my stick and whacked him where he whacked me. He drops his gloves and stick, and I thought, ‘Lindsay, you’ve created a mess for yourself now.’

“Well, we got going, and I don’t know where Bill’s mind was that night ... but I knocked two of his teeth out and put 22 stitches in him. The officials separated us. Bill was bleeding, and I was happy.”

Ezinicki broke away from a linesman and the battled started again.

“I jumped on him and straddled him ... and started punching,” Lindsay said. “Gordie (Howe) says, ‘Ted, he’s out.’ I said, ‘I’m going to kill the SOB.’

“After taking a shower, I headed into the first-aid room. I poked my head in and said, ‘You all right, Izzy?’

“He replied: ‘I’ll get you, you SOB.’ “

read on for Mickey Redmond’s reaction to the Winter Classic…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Talk, Old School | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ted+Lindsay,

Get The Call Right

by Paul on 02/09/12 at 06:19 PM ET
Comments (1)

from Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork,

New York Rangers coach John Tortorella wants hockey to adopt an NFL-style review system for the last minute of a game, he said in a pregame news conference Thursday.

The Rangers saw their late-game rally fall short in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the Devils after a goaltender interference call against them negated what would’ve been the game-tying goal with less than four seconds to play. Tortorella was careful not to link the suggestion with criticism of that particular play—he was fined $30,000 last month for ripping officials after the team’s 3-2 win over the Flyers in the annual Winter Classic—but said he supports a system that would require any questionable call to be reviewed by the league’s nerve center in Toronto in the last minute of regulation.

In the NFL, calls and plays are reviewed “upstairs” in the last two minutes of the game.

“I’m not questioning the call, but it brings up a discussion and I think the NFL gets it right,” Tortorella said before the Rangers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning at MSG. “In the last two minutes, it’s a booth replay to get the call right. I haven’t thought it all through. But maybe the last minute of an NHL hockey game, get that call right. Maybe you do have to go upstairs and make sure it’s the right call.”

continued

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NFL Fans, Try The NHL

by Paul on 02/07/12 at 03:20 PM ET
Comments (1)

from John Buccigross of ESPN,

• Unknown female rappers will never pollute Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. The game is the thing.

• You have diva wide receivers. We don’t have any divas except for some broadcasters. Diva players end up in the AHL. And then end up dating an extra from a “Warrant” video.

• Your referee’s microphones always work when announcing penalties and rulings. Our microphones are Kiwanis Club-quality with a 25 percent success rate. The NHL also does not have an Ed Hochuli orator who can explain rulings in an encyclopedic manner that qualifies as performance art. Little League PA systems sound better than the NHL’s. Your referees have law degrees. Ours stopped going to school at 16 to play junior hockey in Saskatoon. Personally, I prefer the good ol’ point to center ice or incomplete-pass signal when giving the results of a video review.

more

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 Tags: NFL,

Bring Back The Red Line?

by Paul on 02/04/12 at 10:56 AM ET
Comments (9)

from Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun,

It will be interesting to see what will be on the agenda for the general managers’ meetings next month, but it sounds like reinstituting the red line for purposes of two-line passes is becoming a talking point.

Bringing back the red line has long been an option endorsed by Senators GM Bryan Murray, who thinks little has been gained by having defencemen fire the puck up the ice and have it tipped in by a teammate at the far blue line (then have the other team do exactly the same thing), but it’s been a non-starter for many of his colleagues.

Now Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, viewed as one of the bright young minds in the game, has added his voice to the minority looking to bring back the red line.

“I don’t see it as wanting to slow the game. You have to look at what the game is now. We changed the rules to make it a more skilled game. It’s not a more skilled game,” Yzerman told the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s shoot the puck down the ice and go chase it. It’s about getting the puck in the other team’s end and getting there as soon as possible.”

Yzerman said he would also be in favour of permitting players to engage a little more in their pursuit of a 50-50 puck

continued and more topics too…

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bettman Addresses The LA Clock Problem

by Paul on 02/02/12 at 08:12 PM ET
Comments (5)

from NHL.com,

“Not good, not acceptable—if [the clock] had run straight through, the game would have been at a tie at that point, would have gone to overtime,” Bettman said. “And maybe L.A. would have won anyway, maybe not. That’s not the point. We are taking this very seriously. We’re investigating as to how it happened. Obviously it’s either human error or a technology glitch. We don’t know which, but we’ve already begun investigating and we will get to the bottom of it.

“Now I know lots of people are going to say, ‘How can you have a mistake?’ Well, unfortunately or fortunately, our game is full of mistakes—by players, by coaches and occasionally by officials—and on some levels it’s no different than if a guy makes a bad penalty call, puts a team on the power play and they score the winning goal. It happens. We don’t like when it happens and our job is to minimize mistakes. We don’t want any, but obviously when you have a human element in any aspect of the game you’re going to have it.

“If we had any reason to believe that this was intentional we would deal with it in a whole different way, but we’re going to investigate it, get to the bottom of it.”

a bit more

added 9:19pm, Instead of reading more, you have the option below to watch Bettman discuss the clock problem…

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Illegal Streamer Shut Down

by Paul on 02/02/12 at 03:06 PM ET
Comments (24)

from Robert Gearty of the NY Daily News,

On Thursday, the government charged a Michigan man who operated websites that streamed pirated telecasts of top sporting events

Yonjo Quiroa. 28, of Comstock Park, MI, was hit with one count of criminal infringement of a copyright.

“Sports fans may be tempted by illegal streaming websites, but in the end, it is they who pay the price,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

“These websites and their operators deprive sports leagues and networks of legitimate revenue, forcing spectators and viewers to bear the cost of this piracy down the line,” he said.

In a related action, the feds shut down nine of Quiro’s websites that he operated out of his home, as well as seven other websites.

The websites illegally streamed NFL, NBA, NHL and World Wrestling Entertainment events, said Bharara.

a bit more

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Review All Goal/Non-Goal Goalie Interference Calls?

by Paul on 02/01/12 at 09:49 PM ET
Comments (4)

The TSN Experts answer this question…

Is it time the NHL Situation Room was empowered to have the final word on all goal/non-goal calls related to goalie interference?

Darren Dreger: Yes. Above all else it protects the integrity of the on-ice officials. All good goals should count. There is too much at stake in the playoff races for a good goal to turn bad.

Marc Crawford: No. I coached and lived through the toe-in-the-crease era, all the fans remember that. The referees by and large get most of the calls right. Otherwise, if we did this we’d have four hour games. I am maybe in favour of one coach’s review.

Aaron Ward: Yes. The momentum of the game to the big picture of a team making the playoffs. Every point counts. We have the technology right now, somebody just has to take the initiative to do so. I’m pretty sure you’d have a lineup of Phoenix and Toronto supporting this initiative right now.

continue for more topics including the best NHL defenseman is…

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Video- Referee Sutherland Takes A Puck To The Face

by Paul on 02/01/12 at 09:41 PM ET
Comments (0)

Referee Kelly Sutherland took a deflected shot to the face tonight.

No blood but very woozy as he left the ice, no update on his status at this time.

Sutherland was involved in another accident about 11 months ago, watch below…

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Kelly+Sutherland,

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