NHL officiating

 Alright so I just finished watching the Oilers win 6-5 over the Chicago Blackhawks and so you're getting a raw, emotional post from me, and it's gonna feel like it. It is SERIOUSLY time for the NHL to have a conversation/evaluation of their referees. In the 2nd period of the Oilers-Hawks game, the Refs took over the game and started calling penalty after penalty after penalty. Here is the breakdown of the penalties in the 2nd period.

0:26 - Jack Campbell (Delay of Game)
2:48 - Markus Niemelainen (Interference)
3:53 - Seth Jones (Slashing)
5:30 - Evander Kane (Cross Checking)
5:30 - Evander Kane (Cross Checking)
7:02 - Caleb Jones (Interference)
7:27 - Phillipp Kurashev (Hooking)
8:07 - Jake McCabe (Slashing)
8:07 - Tyson Barrie (Slashing)
8:57 - Dylan Holloway (Hooking)

(That's 10 penalties in 9 minutes BTW)

11:43 - Darnell Nurse (Cross Checking)
15:53 - Jesse Puljujarvi (Delay of Game for failed challenge)*
16:15 - Evander Kane (Unsportsmanlike Conduct)*
18:42 - Caleb Jones (Tripping)

Now you may have noticed that I put a (*) next to Jesse's and Kane's penalties. Well that was because the Oilers got absolutely JOBBED by the refs in the 2nd period. So, here's the scene. The Oilers and Blackhawks are tied at 3 goals apiece, with 4:15 left in the 2nd period. The Oilers are working hard in the Blackhawks zone, grinding away with a good shift. Evander Kane is parked in front of the net (OUTSIDE the blue paint), in a battle with Seth Jones. During this battle, Jones pushes Kane into goalie Alex Stalock. Immediately after being pushed on top of Stalock, Kane makes an attempt to get up, and gets a little help from Jones. At this point in time, the puck was sent back to the point to Darnell Nurse, who takes a shot. In the few seconds from when Kane fell on top of him, to the time Nurse takes the shot, Stalock manages to get to his feet AND make the save. But, he leaves a juicy rebound, and Kane is right there to deposit it into the open net. 

Now, one of the TWO referees is standing RIGHT next to the net (to the right of Stalock), so he's got a full view of what's happened. He sees Kane and Jones battling, tells them to knock it off, and then when Kane puts the puck into the net, the ref indicates "goal". Oilers celebrate, Stalock and Jones complain, and the refs have a meeting. 

Immediately, they make the announcement that the call on the ice is "no goal". Edmonton would issue a coach's challenge to get the call overturned, the refs double down on their decision, Edmonton gets issued a penalty because they lost a challenge, and the Hawks are on the powerplay. Then Kane gets dinged for unsportsmanlike because he was yelling at the ref (I would be too tbh) and the Hawks score to make it 4-3 for THEM and not 4-4. 

This sequence, without a doubt, is the WORST example of biased reffing, I have ever seen. This is WAYYYY worse than Kesler holding Talbot's pad in Game 5, despite the fact that that game actually means a hell of a lot more than Game 8 of the regular season. First off, when Kane and Jones engage in their net-front battle, Kane is standing OUTSIDE the blue paint. Secondly, Jones knocks Kane into Stalock, which means goalie interference is out of the question (Rule 69). Third, Stalock manages to get to his feet and make a save on the next shot that's taken, immediately after being knocked down. And finally, he doesn't cover the puck, allowing Kane to scoop it into an open net on his backhand.

I know it won't happen, but the NHL needs to issue a statement or some sort of notice that the reffing in this game is being reviewed and that the goal that counted (and then didn't count) should've counted to begin with. And this keeps on happening to Canadian teams (not just Edmonton in general). Canadian teams face this kind of ridiculous bias all of the time and I'm getting sick and tired of it, quite frankly.

These refs nearly cost Edmonton 2 points tonight, and I am beyond livid.