NHL Says Replay Bears a Review

Despite a wave of protest over nine disallowed goals in the first 31 games of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the NHL is defending its use of video reviews to enforce the man-in-the-crease rule.

‘If we’re guilty of anything this season, it’s being right more than we were a year ago,” NHL senior vice president Brian Burke said. “I can live with that. I’ll take the criticism.”

But Burke conceded a number of controversial issues--including a loophole that doesn’t allow the video-goal judge to tell the referee if a player was pushed into the crease--will lead to discussion at general managers’ meetings this summer.

“I think this entire subject has to be reviewed,” Burke said.

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The rule, designed to protect goaltenders, used to be a judgment call. But the NHL went to a zero-tolerance policy two years ago and this season allowed the referee to use video review to determine if a player was in the crease--even by an inch.

At issue in the playoffs: the sudden increase in reviews after linesmen were instructed to have a “heightened awareness” of crease violations.

During the regular season, there were 204 video reviews in 1,066 games--about one every five games. In the playoffs, there were 28 reviews in the first 31 games--almost one a game--and the majority were because of the in-the-crease rule.

Of the 21 times a referee has asked for a review because of the crease issue, 12 goals were allowed and nine were disallowed.

Burke insists the rule is necessary to protect goalies and said players have to adjust.

“I’m in the press box and I can see the blue paint,” Burke said. “I don’t know how hard it can be to see it down on the ice. Stay out of the crease.”

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If the goal post is the goalies’ best friend, is the in-the-crease rule his second?

“I’m in favor of it,” Duck goalie Guy Hebert said. “Our job is hard enough trying to stop the puck without people taking liberties. I can’t complain about the rule. It helps the goaltenders in general and it puts pressure on the forwards not to be even an inch in the crease.”

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A 3-year-old girl struck in the forehead by a puck during Game 2 last week at the Pond is fine but several stitches were required to close the wound.

The girl, Rebecca Collins of Dana Point, returned to the Pond for Game 5--but told her mother she’d like to sit higher in the stands. She was sitting opposite the player benches about 10 rows up when she was hit during the third period.

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The 4.2 rating garnered by Channel 9’s broadcast of Sunday’s Game 4 in Phoenix was the highest-rated broadcast in the Ducks’ four-year history, a team official said. Duck broadcasts usually draw ratings of less than 2.0 during the regular season.

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Phoenix Coach Don Hay responded mildly to Duck Coach Ron Wilson’s comments that the Ducks would go after Coyote standouts Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk.

“I think he’s big into getting the refs on his side,” Hay said. “He’s trying to look after his team. He’s issued a challenge and we’ll meet it.”

When asked if the Coyotes had overdone it with their physical play, Hay said: “That’s the way we have to play against them. [Wilson] wants to be physical against our key guys. We want to be physical against their key guys. The game plan has been the same from Game 1.

“Our key guys [Roenick and Tkachuk] definitely are more physical, stronger guys than their key guys [Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne].”

Hay said he’s been pleased by the Coyotes’ five-man defensive approach against Kariya and Selanne.

“When you play them you have to have five skaters playing against them,” Hay said. “You can’t expect to slow them down with one guy [defending each].”