Bill Meltzer: SCF: Stars Have No Time to Lament What Could Have Been

Maybe both teams will agree to start their back-ups.

"After the game, much of the focus was on the Benn penalty. It was a bad call."

It was a penalty, 100%. If you don't like tripping despite Benn's stick being tangled in Johnson's skates then ok. It would be holding then. Unless you want to make the argument that taking your hand off your stick, wrapping it around the shoulders of another player and proceeding to pull them back isn't holding. Also if someone wants to use "B-But Johnson was hooking Benn", too bad because Benn didn't react to Johnson's stick. He held him before Johnson's stick touched him.

It's not possible to come to the conclusion that there should have been no penalty on the play.

Benn mugged Johnson. His free hand was all over Johnson.

It was an infraction. It shouldn't have been called, but it was a penalty. In the regular season, you call that every time. In an overtime game in the Final, you should let it go.

Good penalty, bad call.

Benn mugged Johnson. His free hand was all over Johnson.

It was an infraction. It shouldn't have been called, but it was a penalty. In the regular season, you call that every time. In an overtime game in the Final, you should let it go.

Good penalty, bad call.
- GalacticStone

I don’t have a rooting interest but have to agree with this. Seemed like a reaction to Johnson falling. Shoulda let it go.

Still better then a game being decided on an inadvertent delay of game penalty which is the worst. Still, this kind of spoiled a great game.

I don’t have a rooting interest but have to agree with this. Seemed like a reaction to Johnson falling. Shoulda let it go.

Still better then a game being decided on an inadvertent delay of game penalty which is the worst. Still, this kind of spoiled a great game.
- Queenie_5_hole

IMO, one shouldn't see a penalty in OT of the SCF unless blood is spilled or it's something particularly blatant and dangerous. The ticky-tack poop should get put on the shelf. Let the players decide it at 5v5. But, let's not act like it was just a routine battle for the puck. Benn has a big size advantage over Johnson, he didn't need to grapple him like a WWE wrestler.

IMO, one shouldn't see a penalty in OT of the SCF unless blood is spilled or it's something particularly blatant and dangerous.
- GalacticStone

This is what causes the issues though. There's no such thing as "putting away the whistle". I don't even know why people say that because it's not a thing and never has been. The ref's WILL call penalties even when that statement is said. But then all that happens is questioning why does the ref call something now and not before or on this play or that. It should be called by the books regardless of it being the playoffs. Is there some magical improvement to the game made by thinking Benn grabbing Johnson's stick and torquing him backwards needs to be in the game? Oh look it's the playoffs, that slash, hold, or hook was a good play! In what bizzaro world is it better to have that than not?

This is what causes the issues though. There's no such thing as "putting away the whistle". I don't even know why people say that because it's not a thing and never has been. The ref's WILL call penalties even when that statement is said. But then all that happens is questioning why does the ref call something now and not before or on this play or that. It should be called by the books regardless of it being the playoffs. Is there some magical improvement to the game made by thinking Benn grabbing Johnson's stick and torquing him backwards needs to be in the game? Oh look it's the playoffs, that slash, hold, or hook was a good play! In what bizzaro world is it better to have that than not?
- Izzo

I'd rather everything be called all of the time, but the NHL has never done that in my decades of watching games. It's always been inconsistent in enforcement across the board, and the whistle does generally get put away in the playoffs of years past. This kind of thing would not fly in other major sports leagues.