If patience is a virtue then hockey fans aren’t too virtuous.
One of the most prevalent storylines through the first week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been the sheer number of video reviews and the lengthy delays they’re causing.
Friday’s Game 2 between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues was a prime example of the review process taking centre stage and sapping the energy from the crowd.
It appeared as though Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Blues a 2-1 lead late in the third but a lengthy coach’s challenge determined Jori Lehtera was “millimeters offside” and the call was reversed.
“I think the initial purpose of an offside challenge was to rid the game of egregious calls where a player is a foot or two offside, but you can’t just do those ones,” NHL senior director of hockey operations Kay Whitmore told NHL.com. “If it’s offside, it’s offside, and this one was millimetres offside.”
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Minutes later, Andrew Shaw banged home a rebound in front of Brian Elliott. Initially the play was reviewed by the league to determine whether or not the puck crossed the goal line. It did. Then the Blues challenged the goal on grounds of goaltender interference.
More reviews. More delays. More frustration. The goal stood.
While ultimately everyone — players, coaches, league officials, fans — want the game to be called accurately, the lengthy delays are frustrating for those watching the games and for those competing in them.
“It’s not easy,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said after the game. “It definitely is frustrating for both teams to have to wait that long. If we’re going to get the bounce we’ll wait as long as we have to, I guess. There’s no doubt that to a certain degree it takes a little bit away from the energy in the building.”
Toews isn’t alone in feeling that way.
“It was a five- or six-minute review. It felt like forever,” Blues captain David Backes said. “When it goes your way, you love it. When it doesn’t go your way, it’s the worst rule created. But it’s one of those things where you want it called right. I don’t know if they need the football [way] under the hood and a time limit and [if] they haven’t had evidence after the time limit, you move on with life and you keep playing.”
It’s not just the Blues-Blackhawks series these challenges are affecting either. It seems at least once a game there’s a review that chews up a few minutes.
At the end of the day, many feel how long a delay on a coach’s challenge takes is moot if the correct call is made.
“I’d rather have them get it right 99 per cent of the time than 77 per cent of the time,” Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “I think it’s the right thing.”
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