Referee #11 Kelly Sutherland falls & blocks puck
Maple Leafs 2 – Avalanche 1 A minute and a half into the third period of a 1-1 game Toronto earns a “too many men on the ice” penalty affording Colorado to score again on the power play.
As a Toronto penalty killer attempts to clear the puck down the ice, Referee #11 Sutherland (possible distant cousin of Donald) literally tripped himself near the center red line, fell and blocked the clearing attempt allowing for a Maple Leafs player to regain puck possession.
NHL rule book rules only cover players whose actions impede puck movement not officials, a solution would be to allow officials who inadvertently stop puck movement whistle the play dead to ensure an equitable outcome.
A clear advantage allowed that resulted in a goal that would not have happened if not for the official falling and blocking the puck, and since there were no other goals scored this particular score was significantly important to the outcome of the game and playoff standings.
Around the League
Wild 4 – Kraken 0 Seattle launched 34 SOG but could not put one past Minnesota Goaltender Gustavsson (not grumpy old men) as the Wild solidify their hold on the number one wild card in the Western Conference and the Kraken fall even further from realistically challenging for a wild card seeding.
14 NHL Games on Tap Tonight
Including Buffalo visiting Utah that sported a team that was one of Buffalo’s farm clubs from the early 1970s now Utah has an NHL franchise, too cool.
Buffalo Winter 