Puck Daddy Countdown: Ducks, Kings and ref problems

7. Glen Gulutzan

Who could have seen that hire not working out for the Flames way back in that summer when they passed on Bruce Boudreau to hire the guy who was a not-particularly-good assistant for the Canucks?

Oh right, me.

6. The Ducks

Hoo boy. Not great.

And I’m not talking about losing 8-1, which of course is not optimal. They’re getting whaled on pretty good here in this series, especially after you run an adjustment for score effects. This feels a lot like that Nashville-Chicago series did last season where you’re like, “I mean, technically they’re there, but…”

The Ducks have three goals, only one at 5-on-5, in three games, which they have lost by a combined score of 14-3.

And the thing is, unlike that Chicago-Nashville series, it’s not like the Sharks are some kind of amazing team. They’re good, no doubt, and they’ve been great in this series, but this isn’t some sort of ultra-elite team just speedbagging some club that barely qualified. The Ducks are the higher seed in this series!

Like I said the other day, I was never super psyched about Anaheim’s chances. Their best players are getting old, they’re without a key defenseman, I’m not sure John Gibson is 100 percent, and I know I’m not a believer in whatever Randy Carlyle is probably selling these days.

And really, I think it’s the first one that’s been most evident in this series. It’s not revelatory to say Corey Perry is past it but he’s looked pretty bad, and not just “Corey Perry is being a dumbass again” bad. He’s third on the team in power play time and has one (1) shot attempt on the advantage in three games. And in some ways, Ryan Getzlaf has been even worse at 5-on-5. Neither, by the way, has a goal.

I guess the only thing to say at this point is, “Well the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead before, right? RIGHT?”

5. The Kings

Hey speaking of which, yikes.

At least Vegas was the higher seed and everything, but all those concerns everyone had about the Kings not being able to score, well, here we are.

On the one hand you say they’re losing on narrow margins the entire time, but they’re making the Golden Knights look like the ’07-08 Red Wings, getting hemmed into their own zone constantly and just trying to clear to center. How much sustained possession have they had that led to scoring chances, honestly? Not much.

Which is shocking, because the Kings were just pretty solid in most areas all year, and now they look like they did in the absolute worst stretches under Sutter, not being able to hold the puck and not being able to get it back when they don’t have it. It’s not great but at least they’re not the Ducks.

4. The whole “puck over the glass” thing

Obviously the Bruins’ loss in Game 3 did not have to do with the very wrong delay of game call that led directly and immediately to a Leafs power-play goal.

But it did highlight a real problem with the league’s rules, generally speaking. Even if you don’t think the puck over the glass rule is bad (and I’m not entirely convinced that it is) you have to understand the fact that it’s not remotely reviewable where almost everything else is in this dumb league is a real problem.

Frankly, all penalties should be reviewable, at least to the extent that there should be a guy in Toronto watching the game and telling refs if they screwed up a call. Officials wouldn’t like it, for obvious reasons (i.e. no one likes being second-guessed). But if the point is Getting It Right on goal reviews and stuff to the extent that fans need to sit through 10-minute reviews to see if a guy’s skate blade was semi-provably off the ice an eighth of a second before the puck, 33 seconds before a goal, then that’s just the cost of doing business.

But if the ref misses an obvious butt-end or blows the least subjective penalty in the sport (puck over the glass) well heck buddy what are they supposed to do? They’re only human!!!!!

This league is so dumb.

3. Getting competitive

The NHL has a real playoffs problem in that refs now feel empowered to hand out more minor penalties (power-play opportunities and scoring are both up), but they’re still not going to give out more severe penalties unless they really force the officials’ hands.

Brad Marchand maybe butt-ended Freddie Andersen in Game 3, but that was a real bang-bang play and sticks were flying around the crease anyway. Erik Haula definitely butt-ended Anze Kopitar in Game 3, but that was one they shouldn’t have missed. The Foligno punch to Tyler Myers was dicey but it looked pretty innocent unless you really Zapruder Film’d your reaction to it. The Morrissey cross-check on Staal was horrific and obvious (not a great Tuesday for Morrissey ha ha ha).

So if refs aren’t gonna do something about potentially very injurious plays — to maybe not have too much influence on the outcome or something, maybe let the boys play — DOPS has to step up to discourage this kind of behavior.

It’s awful and indefensible. I don’t wanna hear “that’s playoff hockey!” about crosschecks and butt-ends to the head.

2. Great import

Wow did you see how New Jersey/Toronto/Philadelphia/Colorado/Minnesota/Washington come back from getting smoked in whatever game they got smoked and win a game when everyone acknowledges they are appreciably worse (to varying degrees)? Amazing.

Everything can’t be a “statement game.” Sorry.

1. Impropriety

This whole thing is very funny to me. Now you might be thinking, what do the Vegas Golden Knights have to do with some kind of potential ethics violation out of a relatively low-level Cabinet member in the Trump administration? Well it’s funny you ask, because guess which past Congressional campaign Bill Foley “heavily donated” to.

The government picked up the tab for a chartered flight from Montana to Vegas with public money, and Ryan Zinke didn’t even talk about his role with the government (he only talked about how he was a Navy SEAL) as part of a “leadership speech” to a bunch of 19-year-old prospects. If he’d literally mentioned his job at all it might have been fine — if an arguable waste of money — but he didn’t even do that!

Of course the NHL is involved in this kind of nonsense. Why wouldn’t it be?

(Not ranked this week: Steve Simmons.

To double down on the Marc Savard criticism by saying “Well look I’ve had anxiety too, so I get to say he’s a scumbag” is total trash. Because like, watch, is it fine if I say something like this:

“Hey Steve, I also struggle with anxiety so fall off a cliff!!!!!”

Wow, what a horrible thing to say, from me! But for Steve I guess it’s OK to say it because, well, I know what he’s going through and I still very bravely churn out the takes every day.

It’s almost like what if this Savard guy’s problems were similar to but more severe than your own? It’s possible, I think. Just spitballing, Steve!

You really do get to be compassionate for other people. You don’t have to be a total prick all the time.)

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Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)