The NHL knows they badly blew a call in Game 3 of the Western Conference final between the St Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night, but there is nothing they can do about it.
NHL series director Kay Whitmore spoke with Blues reporter Jeremy Rutherford about the illegal hand pass that preceded the Sharks’ winning goal in overtime. Whitmore didn’t shy away from the missed call (saying “read between the lines”) and instead said their hands were tied due to the play not being reviewable according to current rules.
#NHL explanation from tonight’s pool reporter @jprutherford #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/anrlDDX3Ss
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) May 16, 2019
Whitmore indicated the league will meet to discuss potentially making a change that would allow such a play to be reviewed in the future.
Pool reporter: Should this be a reviewable play?
Whitmore: “There’s a group of people (GMs) that will make that decision at some point.”
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) May 16, 2019
The goal being allowed to stand gave the Sharks a 2-1 series lead. It is the third big call San Jose has benefited from this postseason, with the other two coming in Game 7s (one against Vegas and the other against Colorado). It also left Blues personnel furious.
Fixing the issue for the future will be a step forward for the league but won’t make up for things against the Blues unless they come back to win the series.
