TAMPA, FLA. -Much Ado About Nothing.
One day, it was a reaction from Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar to the overtime winner of Game 4 of Nazem Kadori, who seemed to score too many men on the ice. did.
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Cooper called it "painful," and assistant coach Derek Lalond said it was "quite ugly" for the league. did. But Bednar, who was clearly prejudiced against his opinion, saw nothing wrong with it.
"I saw it," he said before boarding the plane back to Denver and back to Game 5. There is Avalanche, who leads 3-1 in the Best 7 Series. , You have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. "Honestly, I thought it was nothing. I thought it would happen with a shift every second throughout the game.
" It's part of the game. It's a fluid game. You're changing on the fly, everything happens. You look at that clip and back it up — and I already have what to see exactly what they're talking about. I did it again — And Tampa jumped two guys down the ice where their D was off the zone. I count 7-6 at a time. That's it. That's how the game is played. I don't see it as resting or non-breaking. I actually see it as nothing. "
Bednar is correct. This is not basketball. Players do not have to wait for the whistle to ring. You don't have to wait for the player to get off the ice. Before stepping on the ice. Generosity is given. As the NHL's operation stated in a statement, it is "a call for judgment that all four ice personnel can make."
And it's seen, but not reviewable. However, it may not be at the level of some fans who analyzed the footage like Zapruder film.
"After the match, the hockey operation met with four officers, just like in the regular protocol," the league said. "When discussing the goals of the victory, each of the four officials advised that they didn't see too many men in the ice situation during play."
With the New York Islanders last year. Even Cooper, who benefited from a goal with too much lightning in the final, admitted that it was "not an accurate science." This is what the Tampa Bay defenseman echoed.
"In a hockey game, there's a 99% chance that the guy on the ice will jump first," Cooper says. "That's why they have such a small safety zone, because there are only two doors, men jump over and it always happens. The reason there are rules is that there is a penalty for getting a big advantage. Because it always happens ... But the purpose of the rule is not used. "
" It probably happens more often than we think, "Lightning said. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "Obviously, the results and the results make it even better. Ask the players and we are looking for every inch to take advantage and dive into play when we know that change is coming.
The question is whether Avalanche took advantage of that so-called "safe zone" and, more importantly, whether Kadori scored even if he didn't jump the gun for five seconds. ..
"I thought it strange that they were so wide open in the play," Cooper said.
That said, Cooper hinted that a better team had won. Whether or not there were 5, 6 or 7 skaters on the ice, Avalanche created far more opportunities than Lightning in overtime.
In a sense, they also created good luck.
"Did they improve us in overtime? There is no doubt about what they did," Cooper said. "But this is a break game. And often you make them and sometimes you get them. And because Colorado took so many breaks, it's rising 3-1 in this series. You saw their goal last night and neither touched the stick to the net ... (Nathan) McKinnon got off the skate and rolled in, not knowing where it was. Wide legs, hitting (Andrew) Coriano's knees, but they took a break. Like
"And that's you And that's what happens when you make them. And the winner of the game is the unfortunate non-call. That's the way you take a break ... The team I had, when we won the championship , You get them, but what happens is around. "
It wasn't surprising that the referee chose not to call the penalty. By the end of the tie game, they were basically swallowing the whistle rather than affecting the outcome. Then again, by not making a call, they essentially played the role of who won.
"I thought they were calling it well," Bednar said. "I'm sure each coach can go through it and say,'It's a penalty, it's a penalty.'" But that's the way it goes. They let us play. (Logan O'Connor) breaks into (Victor) Hedman alone during his overtime, and he gets a stick in his hand. What it is, man. You have to get over it.
"Playoff hockey. Stanley Cup Finals. It's the most competitive time of the year, so you're expected to have a certain amount of fighting as a player. The referees aren't going to call the nasty things that defeat the team and give the other teams an advantage. They're going to let the players solve the game. That should be. "
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos
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