What Happened Last Night Was A Complete And Total Embarrassment To The National Hockey League
Ethan Miller. Getty Images.I've been a hockey fan my entire life. I put on a pair of skates before I even learned how to walk. When other little babies were pissing and shitting their diapers, I was glued to the tv watching Eric Lindros and the Legion of Doom go to work every single night. It's a sport that I love, a sport that I care about, and unfortunately it is a sport that is currently under attack…
…by the goddamn refs.
I mean just look at this shit that went down in Minnesota last night. For a little context, Kaprizov put the Wild up a little more than 13 minutes into the 3rd period. Just 20 seconds after Minnesota took the momentum and the lead, the zebras have the audacity to make this hooking call on Mats Zuccarello.
This right here was deemed to be a hook, which the NHL defines as "the act of using the stick in a manner that enables a player or goalkeeper to restrain an opponent".
I mean that is bad. Realllllll bad. The NHL ought to be embarrassed by this shit. It's a 1-goal game in the 3rd period and you have officials out there who see a textbook stick lift from a guy battling for a loose puck and hammers him with 2 for hooking? Which then allows Vegas to score on the ensuing powerplay, tie the game up, send it to overtime, and then Vegas wins in the extra frame?
It's just so, so bad. And it happens all the time. These ticky tack stick infraction calls are ruining the game. It's not hockey anymore. All because Johnny Gaudreau got hacked in the hand like 47 times one game. This rule needs to go. Because sure, at the end of the day this call doesn't really change much. Vegas and Minnesota already have their playoff spots locked up. The 2-point swing in the standings would have been nice for Minnesota to get closer to catching Vegas at the top of the West, but it's not like losing out on that extra point is going to cause Minnesota to miss the playoffs. But what if this call was made in the playoffs? What if the series was tied 2-2 when the refs make this call? And then instead of heading out on the road to close out the series up 3-2, the Wild have to go on the road to stave off elimination?
Again, it's just a tough look for the sport of hockey. The actions that went down last night are nothing short of an embarassment for the league.
On the other hand…everything that went down in New York vs Washington was fucking awesome. Need way more of that. Make Hockey Violent Again.
P.S. - Worst part about that call is it robbed this Kaprizov goal from being a game winner. Sick bastard is so crafty.
