Calgary Flames: More Frustration Coming From The Officiating?

Another game is done which means some more frustration is coming because of the officials. Calgary Flames fans have been getting used to this.

The Calgary Flames have been known around the league this season as being somewhat penalty-prone. Now, I’ve actually already done a complete analysis on if Flames fans are rightfully frustrated by the officials or not. That can be found here. But it’s been a few weeks and some more cases have happened involving the officiating.

Basically, it’s been since the whole Dennis Wideman incident with him cross-checking a ref. The Flames have had a lot of unusual calls made against them since that. And since that incident, they’re one of the most penalized teams in the league. Before that incident, they were one of the least-penalized team in the league.

And not just that, but there is even objective proof at times.

In one case, Johnny Gaudreau almost had an empty-net goal but was hooked as he tried to shoot the puck. In the NHL rulebook under rule 57.4, it states that in that particular situation, it should have been awarded an automatic goal. But it was not. There’s more about it from that article I linked above. Also in that article I show that former official Kerry Fraser goes into detail about that it was clear as day that it should have been a good goal. AND this official was known to not really like the Flames. So we know there isn’t really bias there.

But now, is there MORE of a reason to be frustrated again?

Goalie Helmet Coming Off

In the game where the Calgary Flames went against the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 7th, the game went to overtime. Where Sean Monahan supposedly scored, but they immediately waved it off because of the goalie, Matt Murray. His helmet came off. However, what they said in that game is that according to player safety, it states that anytime a goalie’s helmet comes off before the puck enters the net, the goal is waved off.

However, what about when the goaltender is the reason for his own helmet coming off?

As I mentioned, Murray’s helmet comes off. However, if we look at the reason why his helmet falls off, we can understand why fans were a little frustrated.

If you skip to 2:45, you can see the goal happening and Murray’s helmet coming off. At around 3:08, you can see a different angle where it becomes apparent that Murray shook his helmet off because it felt somewhat loose.

NHL Rule book rule 9.6

Initially, I thought that it should have only been a delay of game minor penalty. However, when I read rule 9.6 in the NHL rule book, it shouldn’t have been waved off to begin with.

"Rule 9.6: HelmetsWhen a goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask and his team has control of the puck, the play shall be stopped immediately to allow the goalkeeper the opportunity to regain his helmet and/or face mask. When the opposing team has control of the puck, play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate and impending scoring opportunity. This stoppage of play must be made by the Referee. When play is stopped because the goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask, the ensuing face-off shall take place at one of the defending team’s end zone face-off spots.When a goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask in order to secure a stoppage of play, the Referee shall stop play as outlined above and in this case assess the goalkeeper a minor penalty for delaying the game. If the goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask when the opposing team is on a breakaway, the Referee shall award a penalty shot to the nonoffending team, which shot shall be taken by the player last in possession of the puck. If the goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask during the course of a penalty shot or shootout attempt, the Referee shall award a goal to the non-offending team."

That is the full rule, but I underlined a few key points that we should focus on.

Should it have been a good goal, then?

With the video above, there was clearly an impending scoring opportunity by the Calgary Flames. So there shouldn’t have been a stoppage in play, ergo it should have been a good goal.

However, that being said, I’m still very for-player-safety. And I think the rule should be changed that no matter what, there is a stoppage of play if the goalie’s helmet comes off.

But there still should be consequences. Of course, if there were no consequences, goalies would be taking their helmets off left and right. But if we tweak the rules a bit, we could have delay-of-game penalties or even penalty shots in some cases.

Stated in the rule above, even if it wasn’t a goal, which according to the rule, it should be, there should be a delay of game penalty. The fact of the matter is, Murray’s helmet felt loose and he shook it off himself when the Calgary Flames had a good scoring opportunity.

Now, this isn’t me saying I think Murray is a bad or dirty player. In fact, I have a lot of respect for him. He was definitely a big factor in the Pens success last season. But he still shook off his own helmet in that particular play.

Answering questions

I posted a picture of the NHL rule yesterday on Twitter and I had some questions. So I’ll be answering the questions people asked, since it’s a little hard to do that in 140 characters.

Just a disclaimer: This is in no way the “right” answer. This is me making my best judgment call and my own opinions. I’m in no way a professional analyst on the subject matter.

Question: I heard when Murray got hit in the mask by the puck his strap came off his helmet, that is why he shook it off. Do you think it’s still a penalty?

My answer: In my opinion, yes. Even if it wasn’t intentional (which in the video from a different angle, he looks to clearly shake the helmet off), fact of the matter is he still shook it off. Delay of game penalties happen whether the players intentionally delay the game or not. And even if Murray didn’t shake his helmet off, based on the rule book, as long as the Flames still had possession and an impeding scoring opportunity, it should have been a good goal. Again, like I mentioned above, I think the rule should be changed. No matter what, there should be a stoppage to result in better safety. However, I still believe it should have been a delay of game penalty, at least.

Question: The Calgary Flames still won the game, does this still really matter that the goal was waved off now?

My answer: Yes. Because this isn’t the only case where a wrong call was made, based on what we look in the rule book. For example, that hooking call on Johnny Gaudreau while he was going for the empty-netter (more information on that linked above in that article linked) should have been an automatic goal. The fact of the matter is, fans are getting frustrated. And, lets say that at the end of the season, the Flames are tied for the last wild-card spot with the same amount of points, wins, losses, and OT losses.

Now, I know this is very highly unlikely, but stay with me on this for a minute. If that’s the case, they’ll be looking at the ROW (regulation and overtime wins). Let’s say the Flames have one less ROW than the team they’re fighting against for that last wildcard spot. They’ll then lose a chance in the playoffs because of this one disallowed goal.

On top of that, we also have players who missed out on a point because of that waved-off goal. Sean Monahan would have set a franchise record if that goal wasn’t waved off.

Question: In that case, would it have been a penalty shot instead of a delay of game penalty since the puck did go in the net?

My answer: In my opinion, no. Penalty shots generally only happen when there’s a breakaway chance. In that case, there was no breakaway. There was an impeding scoring chance, but say if Monahan got tripped in that case, it would still be a two-minute tripping penalty. Not a penalty shot.

Next: Flames Rookie Matthew Tkachuk Is Settling Right In

Well, this was a very long way of saying “I’m mad at the officiating.” I’m a Calgary Flames fan, what can I say? I have a lot to talk about. What do you think about this situation? Should it have been a good goal? Should there have been a penalty?

Hey, I’m all about the rules. Rules are cool. And in this case in my opinion, the Flames could and should have won that game in overtime.

But again, I’m a Flames fan. What can I say?