Clear missed penalty on Suzuki has Habs fans fuming after Hutson got called for the same phantom play
Photo credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
The overtime loss to the Wild leaves a particularly bitter taste due to the obvious interference on Nick Suzuki before the game-winning goal.
The video replays are quite clear: Joel Eriksson Ek deliberately impeded the Montreal captain’s path at the blue line.
That interference completely opened the door for the decisive goal.
Nick Suzuki also calmly confirmed his read of the play after the game.
He mentioned that he was blocked (“picked”) while skating backward to defend his zone.
Journalist Nicolas Cloutier illustrated the situation perfectly by comparing the maneuver to a “pick and roll,” a classic basketball play.
Except that in hockey, preventing a player from following his check is supposed to be penalized every single time!
"How is Suzuki supposed to follow his man when Eriksson Ek runs a “pick and roll” at the blue line? - Cloutier
Marco D’Amico reports that the Canadiens’ bench was furious about the non-call, and rightly so.
It was an easy case to argue for interference, but the officials decided otherwise.
Why was no infraction called on the sequence?
It’s frustrating to see such a tight game decided by an error in interpretation.
A point earned despite the injustice, and a strong game for Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens
We have to face reality: this kind of officiating decision directly changes the outcome of a game.
Instead of a potential power play, the game ended abruptly.
The Canadiens’ performance may have deserved a better final result.
That said, the League will eventually have to take a closer look at these subtle obstruction plays in overtime that distort 3-on-3 hockey.
A clear penalty was missed, and unfortunately that’s part of professional sports, but that goal should never have counted because of what happened a few seconds before Kirill Kaprizov found the back of the net:
What makes it even more frustrating is that Lane Hutson was called for a phantom play on a nearly identical sequence against the same team, in the same spot on the ice, to the point where the referee later apologized to him.
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