ST. LOUIS — Remember 1999? Ken Hitchcock does, because he was standing behind the Dallas Stars bench, getting the call we all knew was going to be made one day.
That was the year the hockey world watched all of those goals get nullified because someone had their toe in the crease, and of course, Brett Hull had his entire skate in the paint as he slid the Stanley Cup, triple-overtime winner past Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek.
Somehow, inexplicably, it counted.
Fast forward to 2016, when we’ve all been waiting for the playoff game that would be shaped by video review. Perhaps carved is a better word.
It arrived Friday night in St. Louis. But this time, Hitchcock’s team isn’t the favorite, and he’s not getting the calls anymore.
“I’ve been on that side. I’ve seen how it works,” the Blues coach said after the game. “The tie goes to the runner.”
First, an in iffy icing call was whistled, giving Chicago an offensive zone faceoff that preceded their first goal to make it 1-1. Then St. Louis went ahead in the third period, only to lose the goal on a coach’s challenge for offside. Less than four minutes later the Blackhawks scored, with Andrew Shaw appearing to push goalie Brian Elliott — and the puck — back into the Blues net.
That goal stood up under review.
The final score read three goals for Chicago, two for St. Louis. But the scorecard of greatest import was the one that listed the breaks, and Chicago got all of them to even this series at 1-1.
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Of course, for this career coach, it wasn’t a time to whine and moan, but a teaching moment for a Blues team that will have to learn to handle adversity like this if it’s ever going to deliver on its promise.
“When you play the defending Cup champions, you’re going to have to fight through a lot of stuff. That’s the way it is,” began Hitchcock, in one of those soliloquies that was going to be delivered no matter what question came from the media gallery. “I’ve been there on the other side of things. Calls aren’t going to go your way, you’re not going to get the officiating you want, it’s always going to seem like it’s one-sided. Big deal, fight through it.
“If we expect to beat Chicago, we’re going to have to fight through more than just Chicago. They’re a hell of a hockey club. They’ve got a lot of information on how to win. If we expect to beat them, we’re going to have to be better in a lot of elements and know we’re going to get calls that aren’t going to go our way.”
He wasn’t done yet.
“We’ll have to decide how deep we’re going to dig,” Hitchcock promised. “We’ll have to dig as deep as any guy, as deep as any coaches have dug, to beat this team. After today’s game, we realize, we have to go even further than we thought we did.”
It’s a perfect analogy for sports karma, isn’t it? “The tie goes to the runner.”
You want to beat the New York Yankees? Then you’ll have to defeat nine guys in pinstripes — plus the ghosts of Yankee Stadium as well.
You want to knock off the Green Bay Packers? You’ll have to do it in 20-below weather, with all the Packers history stacking up at the goal line against you.
Chicago’s three Stanley Cup championships in the past six years earns them the breaks at a time like this. It’s just the way sports work. Always have.
The tie goes to the runner.
“It’s been predicted and talked about that that might happen in the playoffs,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “We were the benefactors in that situation.”
Somewhere, maybe back in 2010, the Blackhawks had to learn how to deal with adversity like this.
A go-ahead goal in front of an electric home crowd, taken away because Jori Lehtera’s skate was hovering an inch or so overtop the blue line. A Vladimir Tarasenko slashing penalty that could have gone either way, of course goes the Blackhawks’ way. Then the Hawks score on the power play and win the ensuing review for goaltender interference.
“If the guy’s skate is not on the ice, he’s offside. I thought their goal was goalie interference. Guess that’s the ref’s decision,” say St. Louis winger Ryan Reaves. “I mean, every sport has their reviews. Just because it’s a new thing we’ve got to get used to it.”
Give the Blues credit. No one was whining after the game as they packed their bags for the trip to Chicago, knotted 1-1 in a series that looks a lock for seven games.
From the Blues’ standpoint, they’re just fine.
“The feeling on the bench and the way the guys handle it, you don’t like the call, we’re right back out there to try and get another call.,” said captain David Backes. “You don’t like the penalty kill? You’re, ‘Okay, let’s kill this off and get momentum from this.’ You think it’s goalie interference? You go right back out there and say there are four minutes to score.”
It’s a five game series now, folks.
Enjoy it. It’s a beauty.
