NHL Officials Deserve Coal in their Stockings, Bruins Lose to Habs | Snap Shot 69

0:00 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but all I want for Christmas is officiating that is actually competent. I am sick and tired of the objectively bad decision making and poor work of NHL officials. Referees should never be the reason why a game is decided, and while the Bruins let the game get away from them, it never would have happened if the idiot officials had actually taken the time they are allowed to take and review a goal for quote unquote alleged goaltender interference. When will the league establish a better protocol for how to handle GTI, if not more concretely define it.

0:39 Speaker 1: This is a Bruins tape to tape snapshot.

0:45 Speaker 2: The Bruins played the Montreal Canadians on Tuesday night at the TD Garden, and I thought after the first two periods of that game that the Bruins were going to gift us with a beautiful, shiny object to go into the holiday break. The game started off so well for the first two periods. You had right off the opening drop a fight that involved Tanner Janeau. Then shortly after that you had Nikita Zadorov in a heavyweight bout. The game was two to two. As a matter of fact, the Bruins we thought had taken the lead three to two with less than five seconds left in the second period.

1:36 Speaker 2: However, this was a call that changed the entire trajectory of the game, in that the referee immediately waved off Elias Lindholm's goal, claiming that David Pasternak was interfering with the Canadian goalie. Now, I've heard a couple of different spins and rapes for why the Bruins didn't challenge that goal, one of which is the rationale that the trend in the league is that they are allowing whatever called the official makes to stand, whether the official waves it off or calls it a goal, to which I say, then why the hell are we even bothering with reviews and coaches challenges.

2:27 Speaker 2: Then just eradicate it all together and spare us all the angst and aggravation and the waste of time if you're not going to actually review the call. And why the Bruins' coaching staff didn't take the shot at that time to challenge it is beyond me. Maybe they were doing online shopping at the time, I don't know, but me I might have given it a shot. I'd rather go into the start of the period with a power play rather than have I've wasted the challenge such as the Bruins did on a goal that was clearly a goal.

3:07 Speaker 2: So bad night all the way around. The Bruins totally fell apart in the third period of the game after that, and Montreal scored four unanswered goal. Then we fast forward to the post game and we are listening to Marco Sturm make excuses for the fact that the team is mentally fatigued, mentally tired. David Pasternach made similar comments to which I say, boo freaking who You're all aware of what your schedule is. This was a huge stand on home ice and you let opponents come in and kick your asses on your home ice from one end to the other.

3:56 Speaker 2: This team needs to do some heavy setting during the holiday break. And one thing that needs to change to start after the holiday break is the stupid penalties. Alex Steves swinging his stick like it's a flipping golf club on the ice, Okay, sticks between the legs, the tripping calls. It is simply unacceptable any longer, and it needs to be fixed.

4:26 Speaker 1: This game was the case of two things can be true at once. The Boston Bruins let the wheels fall off in an embarrassing display of ineptitude in the third period against the Halves, but I am thoroughly convinced that the immediate no call goal due to quote unquote goaltender interference in the second period was the tipping point for this team. In an era where there is near constant criticism of the league and officials about the definition of an interpretation of GTI, there must be a better protocol for review.

5:01 Speaker 1: I understand that there is a degree of individual interpretation, and yes, we don't want to go down the path of pausing the game to review every little thing, but this is one of those things that has been such a hot topic of debate. The league has forced itself into a corner here. They created a protocol to give officials the ability to review a penalty by initially calling for a five minute major in order to pause play and review the film. This gives officials the time and space to make a better decision about what has actually happened on the ice.

5:39 Speaker 1: So why can't the league establish some kind of process like this for GTI? The game is fast, and it is not always possible to make the right call right away, so why stop goal scoring. The default should be to allow goals and then review right away if there's any question by the officials, and for every GTI called, the league should be required to release a detailed explainer for that call. No excuses. This is bullshit, especially since the league is shoving sports gambling down our throats. Anyways, the Bruins hit the road for a stretch right after the holiday break.

6:25 Speaker 1: I'm too mad to talk about it still, so Merry Christmas. You have filthy animals. Make sure you rate and review the podcast to help us reach more listeners, and tune in weekly to our full podcast, available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and all podcast platforms.