The NHL Officials need to sit for a couple. Their horrific performance in last nights Canucks – Ducks game exemplifies what I have been seeing, reading, and hearing about in many of the games in this “new NHL”. Now, for the most part … I enjoy the changes the league has put in place. A crackdown on clutching and grabbing, hacking and slashing, and general interference was needed. But … WOW … has the pendulum swung in the other direction.
There were 32 minor penalties in the game last night, 14 in the first period. The Ducks at one point had 5 guys sitting in the box … looked like a scene straight out of Slapshot. The worst offense was a penalty on Jovo for hooking – it was a complete joke as there was no impedance of movement and no strength on the stick (which had one hand holding it and it angled behind him while he skated backwards). He ended up getting a extra 2 for a “door slam” as he got into the box. The “match-up” penalty against the Ducks was almost as bad as a “tap” on the hip of Linden as he was all alone resulted in a penalty shot (in which he made a perfectly executed forehand-backhand-overtop deke).
Fans are not watching the game to see power plays and penalty killing. If the league want to play a 4-on-4 game — then lets change the definition of “full strength”. But when only 5:52 of a period is played 5-on-5 it is a horrible game to watch.
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