There was some controversy in Game 2 of the Chicago-St. Louis series on Friday night. The Blackhawks had two critical calls go their way.
First, Vladimir Tarasenko’s potential go-ahead goal with under eight minutes remaining was overturned because Jori Lehtera was offside (top).
Second, Andrew Shaw’s third period goal stood despite the Blues thinking there was goalie interference on the play.
The officials took quite a bit of time to decide if the calls should stand or be overturned (especially on the first review). If you think the ‘Hawks didn’t mind waiting because the calls went their way, that isn’t exactly true.
“It’s not easy,” captain Jonathan Toews said of waiting for a decision, per the Chicago Tribune. “It definitely is frustrating for both teams to have to wait that long. If we’re going to get the bounce we’ll wait as long as we have to, I guess. There’s no doubt that to a certain degree it takes a little bit away from the energy in the building.”
A long break in the action could suck the life out of any team, but these two teams will have to learn from this experience moving forward. In this case, it was easier for the ‘Hawks to move on from the long break because the calls went their way.
“You have to respond the right way no matter what,” added Toews. “We have to be prepared to keep playing whether that call goes our way or not. Going forward we could have a goal be called back against us and we have to be ready for that. It’s been predicted and talked about that that might happen in the playoffs. We were the benefactors in that situation.”
For St. Louis, the long delay was a bitter pill to swallow. They went from thinking they jumped ahead 2-1 with under eight minutes left, to being tied at one, again.
“It was a five- or six-minute review,” Blues forward David Backes said. “It felt like forever.
“When it goes your way, you love it. When it doesn’t go your way, it’s the worst rule created. But it’s one of those things where you want it called right. I don’t know if they need the football (way) under the hood and a time limit and (if) they haven’t had evidence after the time limit, you move on with life and you keep playing.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the Blues respond after such a crushing defeat. Game 3 goes Sunday afternoon in Chicago.