Welcome to another edition of “This Week In NHL Stupid”, where we at Puck Drunk Love explore the hidden gems of stupidity around the league. We start by centering around rules. It’s always a good idea to follow them, especially when you’re a rookie trying to make it in the NHL.
Islanders rook Matthew Barzal pushed the limits of an obscure rule, and the limits smacked him right in the face:
For you kids out there, if you’re in the penalty box and you play the puck, you’re going right back in the penalty box. Barzal learned this the hard way. I bet that he won’t be this stupid again.
As for NHL referees, I’m not taking that bet. Conisder this case of the distinct kicking motion, which seems to be defined differently from day to day. Here’s what happened to Lucas Sbisa on Tuesday:
Sbisa coming in hot like a pizza delivery man that's late to deliver the zaaa. Kicking or steering? #Canucks pic.twitter.com/gBOmGwUAOE
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) October 19, 2016
Was it a distinct kicking motion? Perhaps. It’s impossible to discern between a kick and a steer, which is what refs are forced to do every night. But here’s the “kicker”: while the goal was disallowed, Paul Stastny was called for a hook on the play. So how can you conclude that the hook had nothing to do with the kicking motion when Sbisa is hurdling towards the net?
And speaking of the refs and stupid, confusing interpretations of rules, consider Vincent Trocheck and his penalty shot goal from Tuesday night:
No. This should never be a goal and it should have never been a goal. But the referees are now getting too cute with this. Trocheck wasn’t involved in some spy level deke. He shot the puck and whiffed. Continuous motion towards the goal stopped due to a missed shot. But because the puck was moving on a sideways plane and not backwards a hair after the whiff, Trocheck was allowed to put one past the goalie who let his guard down because he understands the rules of a penalty shot better than the refs. What’s going on here?
Not in the minds & eyes of the Keepers of the Game. Be tough way to lose Stanley Cup on a penalty shot decision like this one.
— Kerry Fraser (@kfraserthecall) October 19, 2016
Let’s hope it never comes to this.
Some other levels of stupidity? How about Cam Talbot in Edmonton on Sunday:
Ole!
And then there are the Carolina Hurricanes, who blew a 4-1 lead last week, did it again on Sunday when they blew a 3-0 lead to Vancouver. And it was highlighted by Justin Faulk for the second goal
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/787865585552154624
Faulk passed the puck to a guy who wasn’t even looking, and Vancouver gets a goal out of it to provide another spark to their victory. I really don’t want to feature Carolina every week, but if they keep doing things like this, we might have to name the feature after them.
And finally, from Sunrise on Thursday night …
Yeah, we’ll just get that later.
