Game 24: Montreal 3 Pittsburgh 4 OT (Bell Centre)
Written by Rick Stephens, AllHabs.net
MONTREAL, QC. — Prepare for a storm — snowstorm you say? Try firestorm. With the Canadiens next playing in Anaheim on Wednesday, there will be three full days to dissect tonight’s game and any ramifications coming from the league office.
If the postgame is any indication of the volume and intensity of the discussion across Planet Habs, you better strap on your seatbelts. Twitter erupted after the contest with @All_Habs becoming a trending topic in Canada.
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So by saying “ramifications coming from the league office” it sounds like I’m expecting a suspension. No, as egregious a call as referee Dan O’Rourke made in allowing the overtime goal by Penguins Kris Letang, the NHL doesn’t suspend officials — even when their errors decide the outcome of a game as was the case tonight.
O’Rourke has left himself with no wiggle room on this one. Had he been on the side of the play with a good view, O’Rourke would have seen that Carey Price had covered the puck for the requisite number of steamboats — his whistle would have blown the play dead. From his actual vantage point, he had no view of the puck, and therefore should have blown his whistle.
“I had the f**king thing covered is what I had. They didn’t blow the whistle and they poked it out, rammed it right out from underneath me and they put it in the net. That’s how that went down. I clearly had my hand over the puck. Clearly. That’s it. [The referee] didn’t say anything to me. He ran off the ice.” — Carey Price
Some will whine about the refs calling back two Penguins goals — true, because in fact all three goals were scored outside the bounds of the rulebook. But the two previous disallowed goals should have no bearing on a referee’s call in overtime. We have witnessed quick whistles in similar circumstances, and the infamous “intent to blow” calls.
In this case, whether O’Rourke saw Price cover the puck or didn’t see it, it was incumbent on him to end the play, and direct teams to lineup up for the ensuing face-off. Instead O’Rourke inserted himself as the deciding factor in the game — something referees should never do.
This game should spark a renewed discussion on the rapid decline of the quality of officiating in the NHL, and the limited use of instant replay. But instead, league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan will use a relatively innocent event in the game to provide a smokescreen for the incompetence of his charges. I am, of course speaking of the collision between Kris Letang and Max Pacioretty with 3:14 left in the third period and the game tied 3-3.
Whatever Shanahan’s ruling after his phone conversation with Pacioretty on Monday, the discussion before and after will be about the severity of the hit, intent, and whether justice has been served. It’s a rather convenient escape hatch for Shanahan, Terry Gregson, the NHL’s Director of Officiating and commissioner Gary Bettman who presides over the mess.
“I felt terrible that [Letang] got hurt and I’m thankful that he came back.” — Max Pacioretty
Bruins fans have already jumped into the fray with their vitriolic nonsense acting as if they have a dog in the fight. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise given that Boston players and media painted Pacioretty as public enemy No. 1 for “faking” a fractured vertebra and severe concussion after Zdeno Chara nearly ended his life and sent him to Montreal General on a stretcher. Chara received no supplementary discipline despite being a repeat offender, the viciousness of his actions, the severity of Pacioretty’s injuries and it being a reckless, premeditated, retaliatory strike — oh, and one more thing, the puck happened to be 40 feet away.
For the record, let’s look at the incident involving Letang and Pacioretty.
- Letang was in possession of the puck when hit with a Pacioretty shoulder.
- Letang cut into the middle of the ice in the high slot putting himself in a dangerous scoring position, with Pascal Dupuis streaking untouched to the net.
- Letang, by his own admission, dropped his head as he attempted to take a shot.
- Pacioretty hit Letang with a shoulder, did not leave his feet, nor did he extend his arms.
- Letang received a bloody nose, passed the concussion protocol, and returned to the ice a short time later.
- Referees did not call a penalty on the play, and Penguins players did not react angrily towards Pacioretty.
- Pacioretty personally apologized to Letang right away, and showed no malintent.
- Far more devastating hits this season such as Ryan Malone on Chris Campoli and Milan Lucic on Ryan Miller received no supplementary discipline.
- Pacioretty has no suspension history.
Based on the above, Shanahan has no logical justification for handing out a suspension. But this is the NHL where fairness and consistency is an unknown concept and decisions are often determined by political factors. What is Jeremy Jacobs opinion of the incident, and besides reminding Bettman about ramming through his lucrative contract extension, what else will he be whispering in the commissioner’s ear?
Incompetent officials are not the only ones grateful for all the focus on the Pacioretty hit. Canadiens coach Jacques Martin and his so-called defensive system which allowed the Penguins to score three unanswered goals gets a free pass as well. The Canadiens played well in the first periods of two consecutive games against Pennsylvania opponents but in both contests turned over momentum to their opponent after that.
“We let off the gas a little bit. They had the momentum in the third. I wish, personally, we kept the pressure on offensively and I think we would’ve come up with two points.” — Max Pacioretty
It was a subtle shot at the system by the young power forward who hinted, that given his druthers, the team would not be playing as passive as they have been instructed, particularly with a lead.
Pacioretty and his linemates David Desharnais and Erik Cole were the best line for the Canadiens. But not far behind was the trio of Lars Eller, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Travis Moen. By contrast Brian Gionta had a minus-4 rating and Mike Cammalleri finished the game with minus-2.
But on this night, as has been the case for the entire season the Habs were let down by their anemic power-play ranked 27th in the league. Not only is a weak man advantage a deflating experience for Montreal, it has proved to be a momentum-booster for the opposition. In addition players on the opposing side have been able to take liberties knowing there wouldn’t be consequences.
The Canadiens wasted a superb effort by Price, who faced 42 shots by the Penguins. And as Price not-so-eloquently described, the game was decided when NHL officials missed a call. In the noise of the next few days, that point will quickly be forgotten.
All Habs game stars
1. Carey Price
2. Max Pacioretty
3. Erik Cole