The Boston Bruins were on the wrong side following some questionable decisions during their Eastern Conference second round series against the Florida Panthers.
Panthers forward Sam Bennett appeared to hit Brad Marchand in the head during the first period of Game 3, but he escaped a penalty. He also has not been fined or suspended by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Bennett was also involved during a controversial call in Game 4 when he cross-checked Bruins center Charlie Coyle against goaltender Jeremy Swayman, preventing him from being able to make a save. Bennett pounced on the loose puck and scored to tie the score at 2-2 in the third period. The Bruins challenged the play for goalie interference, but lost.
In his explanation of the decisionthe league said: “Video review supported the on-ice referees’ call that Florida’s Sam Bennett’s push on Charlie Coyle and subsequent contact with Jeremy Swayman did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease before Bennett’s goal.”
The Panthers ultimately won 3-2 to take a 3-1 series lead.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney held a news conference Monday before the team left for Florida ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 5. He hasn’t been very critical of the league or officials, but he wants these games to stand in front of a microphone and answer questions when appropriate.
“The general principle that I have, to be completely honest with you, is that we should not ask the coach after the match what he thinks about the refereeing and what is happening,” he said. Sweeney said. “You should really focus on what we didn’t do well in the game to win a hockey game.
“These questions should be directed to either the Supervisor of Officials, the Series Supervisor and/or the officials. If you want full access and transparency, put the officials in front of the microphone to answer the question. They are the only ones who have the necessary experience to be able to handle any interpretation to which they apply Rule 69 in this case. That’s it.
“Obviously we challenged it because of our interpretation. The only ones who can answer that are not making a statement, just standing in front and answering the question.”
To begin with, there is no reason why a coach should not be questioned about officiating after a match, especially when the coach makes the decision to challenge a decision made by one of the referees. The coach must be asked to explain why he challenged the play and what explanation the referees gave him.
But Sweeney’s point about league officials and/or referees themselves answering questions on certain calls makes a lot of sense. It would increase transparency and accountability if the league and referees did this.
Sweeney said this topic has been discussed at previous general managers’ meetings. But obviously, little effort has been made so far to put something in place.
The simplest solution is to have a pool reporter speak to one of the referees after the match. The NFL does this, for example. A reporter will ask a referee a few questions about a specific decision/call that was a huge storyline of the match. The NBA also does something similar. The NHL should do it too.
Even though the refereeing was not excellent in this series, the the real problem for the Bruins is their lack of offense. They have scored two goals or fewer in three of four games against the Panthers. They have also made 18 or fewer shots in each of the last three games. That’s nowhere near enough against a Panthers team loaded with elite offensive players.
