Referee misses obvious goaltender interference call
A controversial goalie interference penalty caught fans attention last night during the game between the Rangers and Panthers after Igor Shesterkin was run into.
The Eastern Conference final game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, like each game during the series, has been fast and physical, with each team trying to get an edge by any means necessary. But saying that, the referees have either put their whistles away or are asleep at the switch because they missed a blatant goaltender interference penalty.
During the second period, Florida Panthers Niko Mikkola ran roughshod into Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, and if you thought a penalty should have been called, so did everyone else on the ice as hell, broke loose moments later.
It's plausible to suggest that in order for either of these teams to win, crashing the opponent's goaltender is likely going to be the recipe to beat them, but to have it look so blatant isn't necessarily appropriate.
It's also conceivable to blame the referees for missing such an obvious call when the Panthers should have been sitting for two minutes. While there is an awful lot of hockey left to be played and pointing fingers at an official shouldn't be done, if the players are required to be held accountable, the referees should be too. The NHL needs to take a long, hard look at officials and penalize them in some fashion who miss calls, obvious or not.
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Should referees be held accountable for missed calls? | ||
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