Leafs @ Habs - Mar. 1st, 7:00pm - CBC, TSN 1050

[lc9]

Win a damn game.  Leafs hockey at its finest.

 

[Bonsixx]

How many more bonehead plays from Bernier are we gonna get this year?

Yes, let's get that son of a bitch and his .924 save percentage out of here.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I don't see what's to argue about that penalty.  I think the only reason you don't see it called more is because it so rarely happens that a goalie races out to beat a player to the puck and covers it like that.  9 times out of 10 the goalie races out and pokes the puck away if he can.

It's basically to the letter of the rulebook.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

The last two penalties were penalties, but it was the call against Gleason that turned the tide. The game should have never gone to overtime.

That said, the Leafs should have shown up in the first...

This!

 

[losveratos]

I remember reading that we needed .500 hockey to make the playoffs after the break. Well... this was .500 hockey so far. As long as we stop having 3 point games in our division I don't care if we lose in overtime against every other division the rest of the year as long as we make the playoffs.

Call me crazy if you want

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

"I thought it was actually a tough game for me," he said of a rare night with fewer than 30 shots against, Montreal mustering just 29. "They had a lot of bodies in front of me. They were hitting me quite a bit."

Nothing's changed with the Habs I see.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

For all the praise Bernier's puck handling skills received at the start of the year, he's certainly made some boneheaded plays with the puck.

 

[Frank E]

"I thought it was actually a tough game for me," he said of a rare night with fewer than 30 shots against, Montreal mustering just 29. "They had a lot of bodies in front of me. They were hitting me quite a bit."

Nothing's changed with the Habs I see.

They make it so easy to hate them.

 

[freer]

I going to put this out there. Leafs should not take 15 mins to start playing. The second and third were good periods. The first line was good as normal. Our powerplay and dumb penalty by Bernier were our demise. I really don't understand why he covered it up or just stay in the net and the play happen, I mean it was only Bierre, he has not been that hot with the exception of the last game for the Habs. Just saying.

 

[AvroArrow]

For me, the case that the rulebook shouldn't consider it a penalty is that it's not a no-risk play, and if the goalie fails to cover it up, it's highly likely to go in the net.  Sort of the opposite of "high-risk/high-reward", like "low risk of screwing it up, but high risk of a failed play ending up in the net".  Anyway, so it goes.

It's not the rulebook's job to protect him on risky plays.  If it's too risky to come out and play it, then he shouldn't.  He's not required to come out in that situation.  He chose to and must abide by the rules or face a penalty.

 

[Strangelove]

Regardless of whether the calls against were legitimate, it'd be nice if the Leafs could kill a penalty. It's incredibly frustrating to watch McClement stand in one place at the top of the circle covering nobody and allowing guys like Subban all the time in the world to hammer the puck (this occurred both five on four and four on three).

A non-aggressive PK just doesn't work in this league and the Leafs can't seem to let it go.

 

[Kin]

Especially in OT when giving a team a 4/3 is a huge advantage.  Refs let a lot of stuff go in OT, and rightly so.

I would think that this game was the ultimate argument for not letting referees selectively make calls.

 

[L K]

Especially in OT when giving a team a 4/3 is a huge advantage.  Refs let a lot of stuff go in OT, and rightly so.

I would think that this game was the ultimate argument for not letting referees selectively make calls.

That's probably the thing for me.  Hockey coming out of the previous lockout was unbearable with the number of "clutching" penalties that slowed the game down to a crawl but when you use the argument "well it's in the rule book" but don't use that argument the other 20 times something happens in a game, I have a problem with that.

Either call it all the time, or don't call it at all.

 

[Kin]

That's probably the thing for me.  Hockey coming out of the previous lockout was unbearable with the number of "clutching" penalties that slowed the game down to a crawl but when you use the argument "well it's in the rule book" but don't use that argument the other 20 times something happens in a game, I have a problem with that.

That sort of puts the League in an unwinnable spot though. Either they call things like obstruction or hooking the way they're written and that results in the post-lockout hockey you don't like or....what? No penalties? Re-writing hooking and obstruction to allow for the Refs to just not call it if they feel like it would detract from the drama of the game?

Right now they let the Refs use their judgment on some but not on things like the Bernier/Kessel penalties where there really isn't a ton of room for interpretation. It's not great, and the quality of refereeing in the league in general can be debated, but I don't know what the alternative is.

 

[ZBBM]

Well like in any sport if the refs called every penalty that occurs there would be nothing but. It's essential that they use discretion and I don't think too many would disagree. My point is that if they don't call the hook in OT that they called in the first then there's enough discretion available not to call Bernier there especially when the Habs already had a four on three in the OT.

 

[lamajama]

The Leafs may make the playoffs but will go NOWHERE until they fix the darn PK. They can't fix their wont to take stupid penalties so.....

 

[TML fan]

Just don't call Gleason and I doubt there would have even been an OT.

 

[Kin]

]My point is that if they don't call the hook in OT that they called in the first then there's enough discretion available not to call Bernier there especially when the Habs already had a four on three in the OT.

There really isn't. Like the over the glass DOG it's a pretty simple yes or no rule. Flip teams in this situation and I don't think anyone here would be advocating that the Refs should stop calling blatant penalties because the Leafs had already had a PP.

 

[Stickytape]

]My point is that if they don't call the hook in OT that they called in the first then there's enough discretion available not to call Bernier there especially when the Habs already had a four on three in the OT.

There really isn't. Like the over the glass DOG it's a pretty simple yes or no rule. Flip teams in this situation and I don't think anyone here would be advocating that the Refs should stop calling blatant penalties because the Leafs had already had a PP.

I agree.  I think there was cause for the refs to be lenient with Bernier, but he left them no opportunity.  It was a clear-cut penalty.

 

[Zee]

]My point is that if they don't call the hook in OT that they called in the first then there's enough discretion available not to call Bernier there especially when the Habs already had a four on three in the OT.

There really isn't. Like the over the glass DOG it's a pretty simple yes or no rule. Flip teams in this situation and I don't think anyone here would be advocating that the Refs should stop calling blatant penalties because the Leafs had already had a PP.

I agree.  I think there was cause for the refs to be lenient with Bernier, but he left them no opportunity.  It was a clear-cut penalty.

You never really see it called especially with an opposing player so close.  Never seen it in OT either.  Oh well.