Reviewing Review

As a former referee I know how difficult it is to make a split second decision on the ice, let alone doing it at a professional level, so I appreciate how difficult the job of an official is. Last night we saw another example of a difficult call that could have gone either way go against Marian Gaborik and the New York Rangers. Gaborik was driving the net late in the game and was 'pushed' in or drove right into Martin Brodeur like a bowling ball, depending on your point of view. This caused a tying goal to be waived off due to a goaltender interference call. Based on his reaction, I think Rangers head coach John Torotrella was of the former opinion. This is one of those calls that as Nick Kypreos (@realKyper) and Daren Millard (@darenmillard) pointed out on hockey central at noon that is subject to human error and part of what makes the game entertaining. It is also a slippery slope if you were to start allowing coaches the ability to challenge these types of calls. It's not like seeing if the puck crossed the line completely or say in the NFL if both feet are in bounds, this is a discretionary call and one to which you'd never get a proper consensus. Personally I've always believed that you should look at the call going against your team from the opposite point of view and base your opinion on how you'd react if it happened the other way around. Say if David Clarkson had plowed into Henrik Lundquvist. The crowd at Madison Square Garden would be calling for his head. This is a fascinating part of the nature of sport and often allows for as many problems as it does excitement. However, by taking the game out of the hands of the officials it may lead to further problems. Officials have the ability to control a game that is getting out of control by sending players off thus nipping the situation in the bud before it gets out of control. They are there to interact with captains and coaches to explain why they made their call, though I'm sure Sens coach Paul Maclean can attest to the fact that this is often not to their liking. Or you hear stories like that of Stephan Auger and Alex Burrows where a ref is out to get a player. They are human and I would never say they aren't subject to this line of thinking, however most of the time at the professional level they do get it right and should be commended for the job they do. That said review is a usefully tool in certain situations and should be utilized for such because giving everything over to a machine just doesn't compute.