Renaud Lavoie reports the NHL wants to give officials video replay access after the Cole Caufield penalty against the Wild.
The Canadiens lost 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night, and Kirill Kaprizov scored the winner on the power play. A contested call leading straight to the game-winner is the kind of sequence that forces a conversation.
Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis believes Quinn Hughes sold the call to the referees. We covered Martin St-Louis questioning Quinn Hughes last night, and the reaction hasn't cooled.
Lavoie says the change should come sooner rather than later. The league wants to help its on-ice officials, and video access is the tool he describes.
Stu Cowan lands in the same neighborhood, with a twist. Lavoie talks about equipping the referees themselves. Cowan talks about a recourse the teams could trigger.
Cowan isn't convinced the league will go there. "It would make a lot of sense, but I don't think the NHL will do it, because it would embarrass referees that Bettman swears are the best in all sports," he said.
Would a challenge system fix a night like this?
The idea comes from Ken Potter: one or two reviews per game for clearly missed calls, the way baseball does it. It's the cleaner answer. Replay access for referees only helps if the officials choose to look, and Caufield's penalty shows what happens when nobody has to.
Cowan's skepticism is fair, though. A team-triggered review puts a referee's mistake on display in front of the whole building, and that's a hard sell for a league that prides itself on its officials.
The call also landed on the wrong player. Caufield has 11 goals in 18 games this season, three of them game-winners, and he finished Tuesday with an assist and two shots. He's a player you want on the ice, not in the box.
Montreal deserved better in the shot department, too. Lane Hutson fired six at Jesper Wallstedt, and Jacob Fowler stopped 22 of 24 at the other end.
The Canadiens are 7-0-3 over their last 10 and next play at Boston on Thursday. Whether the league moves before the next contested call is still the open question.
Quick hits
ISLANDERS: David Pagnotta reports the Islanders are eyeing next Tuesday for Mathew Barzal's season debut. A long wait for fans on Long Island, and the date is finally taking shape.
-
NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Juuse Saros blanked the Kings last night, one day after Pekka Rinne's Hall of Fame induction in Toronto. Hard to script a better tribute than a shutout from the guy who followed him.
-
INJURY: Nick Cousins' status is the Senators' biggest question this morning. Travis Green's answer was blunt: "He's not doing great." That's not the tone a coach uses when he expects a quick return.
-
NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Sheldon Keefe says change on the power play is "not too far away" after a 0-for-4 night in Winnipeg. Four chances, nothing to show, so the patience is clearly running out.
-
DEBUT WATCH: Erik Erlendsson reports Sam O'Reilly is set to make his NHL debut tonight in Buffalo. The Lightning are down their top center, so the 20-year-old walks into a real opportunity.
-
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Should the NHL give teams one or two video reviews per game for clearly missed calls?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Lauren McDavid's Toronto message sends NHL fans into complete meltdown
