Link to video
Notice how it stopped for about a second then restarted. The goal was scored at 0.4, but should not have counted.
The War Room looked at the play, but missed the clock stoppage until a few minutes after the game ended. This is the first time that NHL VP Colin Campbell can remember this has happened with this great of an impact on the outcome of a game. Sure, there are errors with false starts at faceoffs or a bit of a delay after a whistle, but this situation is unique because it was an obvious error, during play, that effected the outcome of the game significantly.
“We didn’t even look to go back and say `OK, did something happen (with the clock)?”’ Campbell, the NHL’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations, said Thursday.
“When it crosses the line (and) you review it, you back the puck out and you see what the clock was. And the clock was 0.4 (seconds).
“And then after the game, minutes after the game, we see (it and say) `Holy cow.”’
Campbell confirmed that the goal shouldn’t have counted and said the league would conduct an investigation to determine what caused the error.
“You ask some tough questions,” he said. “You’ve got to ask every question.”
I would suggesting holding an overtime period at the conclusion of the March 8 game between the two squads in Columbus. It won't happen, but why not? Let the game play out and end however it ends. Then, have the one minute break and head into a normal overtime. Play it out. The players would be tired (like a normal OT), the ice is scratched up and everything.
I'm okay with allowing different line ups due to injury or trades between this game and the OT period in Columbus. I'm even okay with the game being in Columbus and not Los Angeles. Make it so the arena management (that is the sound guys and mascot and video board people or anyone else associated with the team) doesn't do anything that in anyway initiates cheering for Columbus to create as neutral an atmosphere as it can be since the Kings are disadvantaged playing an OT period on the road that should be at home. Or even better, have the OT after the crowd is out of the building. They can televise it, but no crowd to prevent cheering "the wrong home team". But it won't happen. Those points are gone forever from Columbus, but more importantly wrongfully given to the Kings.
In case you haven't been paying attention, the Kings are in a playoff race while the Blue Jackets are all but statistically eliminated. So I'm not advocating in favor of the Jackets. I'm just against the Kings earning points the NHL admits they shouldn't earn. The Kings currently sit with 60 points (7th in the West) under Chicago and St. Louis with 65 each and ahead of Minnesota with 57 for the final playoff spot at 8 over two teams with 54 points each: Dallas and Colorado. Points matter.
Even Gary Bettman said it was wrong.
Link to video
How wrong was it? If you visit the Situation Room Blog (link to the right), there's no mention of this EVEN THOUGH the War Room was called to varify the "good goal". Every other questionable goal from the season is there. Good goals, no goals, called goals that weren't and good goals that were missed. They're all there. But not this one.
Hockey has a history of reviewing and correcting mistakes. They said that Lucic wasn't on the ice illegally during a scrum and his game misconduct was struck from the records. That came a full day later. Goals are re-evaluated and given to different players all the time. The NHL needs to do the right thing here and play an overtime period (and shootout if necessary) between the Blue Jackets and Kings.
I don't really care about the circumstances that lead to the problem, that's not a good goal. I do actually care why the clock stopped, but not for the purposes of determining the validity of the goal. My point is that human error, conspiracy or technical problems do not negate the fact that the goal should not have counted.
I do believe the game timekeeper was the most at fault here. First of all, he is suppose to use a stopwatch in addition to the official clock (the scoreboard one) and the error should have been noticed if it was a technical issue. If he accidently stopped both clocks, realized his error then restarted them, he would have known he screwed up. Either way, he should have alerted the on ice officials and the video judge. These duties are explained under Rule 34.
The on-ice officials are pretty innocent in this. I don't think they would be looking at the clock in a moment like that, nor would anyone expect them too. They rely on other officials, even when replay is used, unlike say the NFL or NBA where the onfield or oncourt officials watch the monitors to make a call. If that happened in hockey, the referees in the NHL would be a bit more to blame. The video judge and the War Room are not clean in this situation and should be more aware particularly in the future, but they are not as much at fault as the timekeeper. The timekeeper should be fired for this one (unless he can prove he tried to communicate with other officials and couldn't or was ignored). Again, either human error or technical malfunction: it's his duty to correct either one.
I didn't blame the Kings at all for this one at first. Even if they somehow manipulated the clock, the timekeeper still should have noticed on his alternate device. Oh, and just so you know, the official clock is required to be syncronized with the tv broadcast. So don't think that the clock in the arena was running just fine and somehow the tv people screwed up their feed. But they wouldn't do anything to buy more time in front of the net, right?
Here's Los Angeles' GM Dean Lombardi curious response to the clock stoppage:
"Those clocks are sophisticated instruments that calculate time by measuring electrical charges called coulombs -- given the rapidity and volume of electrons that move through the measuring device the calibrator must adjust at certain points which was the delay you see -- the delay is just recalibrating for the clock moving too quickly during the 10 - 10ths of a second before the delay -- this insures that the actual playing time during a period is exactly 20 minutes That is not an opinion -- that is science -- amazing devise quite frankly."
That just smells funny. I mean, it would be one thing to say "it's possible the clock malfunctioned and we just happened to benefit from it, it's up to the NHL where to go from there." That's what Kings' writer Rich Hammond essentially said in his "The Three Keys" wrapup of the game by saying "Well, nobody can accuse the Kings of not giving a 60-minute effort, or perhaps even a 60-minute, 0.5-second effort. Independent of whether the Blue Jackets got robbed -- they probably did -- give credit to Jack Johnson for having the poise to push the puck to Drew Doughty,..."
But that Lombardi quote sounds like a justification of why it happened, not the words of a recipient of a happy accident or a denial of wrongdoing. That just doesn't sit right with me. I would have said I would get the clock fixed so this doesn't happen again because, hey, next time it could go against the Kings.
But what if he's right and that's how that clock works? Who in the world designs a clock that recalabrates while it's running like that? I don't buy that excuse and I certainly wouldn't want to buy that kind of clock. I've never seen it before during an NHL game. I really REALLY want to watch that whole game again and only look at the clock to see if it does any unusual skipping at any point during the game. I would think that if this was a common, accepted quirk of game-clocks as a whole; it would be in the rulebook, commonly known, addressed by both Campbell and Bettman in their response to this incident, and I would have seen it at least once before. If it's not across the board and a unique quirk to the Staples Center, then the NHL should force the club to get a new clock.
Bottom line: I call b.s. on this clock working the way it was intended to. Human error, manipulation, or a technical malfunction are the source of this.
But, again, even if the Kings screwed with the clock, the timekeeper should have caught on, so I'm still giving him the vast majority of the blame for this hockey blunder.
It will be interesting to see if Columbus' GM Scott Howard will be fined for his statement:
"It is an amazing coincidence that with the Kings on a power play at STAPLES Center and with a mad scramble around our net in the dying seconds of the third period of a 2-2 hockey game that the clock stopped for at least one full second. I can only think of two ways in which this would have happened. Either there was a deliberate stopping of the clock or the clock malfunctioned."
Don't forget the Rangers' coach (Tortorella) was fined $30000 for saying bad things about the officiating during the Winter Classic. Will Howard face a similar penalty? I wouldn't think so considering the NHL has basically agreed with him when they didn't think Tortorella was correct in his assertion.
Bettman is right. Things happen and errors occur. But this is so bad, and so clearly wrong and it literally decided the outcome of a game and points in the standings, that it must be corrected. This isn't a judgement call (like an official on the ice calling a poor penalty). This isn't a situation that's disputable, lacking clear evidence (like if the puck crossed the goalline and we can't tell because the camera angles were bad). The clock stopped and everyone saw it.
Where we go from here is anyone's guess. It's pretty unprecidented.
