The refs blew it by not blowing it, says Devils coach

Jason Brough

Jun 4, 2012, 11:48 PM EDT

37 Comments

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The New Jersey Devils didn’t lose tonight because the whistle should’ve been blown on the Kings’ first goal. They lost because they were the second best team on the ice, and by a fairly wide margin when the final horn sounded and Los Angeles had won, 4-0.

All the same, Devils coach Peter DeBoer would like to know why the Kings were allowed to keep whacking away at Martin Brodeur while the puck was underneath the goaltender’s pads.

“That’s a momentum-changing call at the time,” said DeBoer when asked if he thought the whistle should’ve been blown. “I hope he’s right. That’s an awful big call if you’re wrong.

“I mean, my opinion on it, as soon as you lose sight of the puck, the whistle’s supposed to go. Even if you don’t get [the whistle] to your mouth, your intent is to blow it when you lose sight.

“Should be dead puck, so…I’d like to hear an explanation for it.”

Here’s the goal by Alec Martinez that gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 5:40 of the second period.

Upon further review, the puck was definitely lodged under Brodeur’s pads…

…though not for long enough apparently.

That, or the referee didn’t see it under his pads.

Anyway, we’ll never know if the game would’ve turned out differently if the whistle had blown. The first goal is always a big one, and doubly so in a low-scoring series like this one, so you can understand DeBoer’s frustration.

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37 Comments (Feed for Comments)

youthoughtyouhaditbad - Jun 4, 2012 at 11:51 PM

This is the same coach who had his team win Game 6 in OT against the Rangers on a similar goal and now he’s complaining? What a child.
- nothanksimdriving123 - Jun 4, 2012 at 11:55 PM
  
  I’m neutral in this series. But I agree with the coach. In most cases when the puck is frozen by the goalie this long, the ref blows the whistle.
- manchestermiracle - Jun 4, 2012 at 11:57 PM
  
  Yup, the Devils are quickly melting down and DaBore is leading the runoff. Does he really think that if that play was blown dead the Kings would suddenly have stopped pounding the Devils into the ice? When you start reaching like this you might as well just admit you’re giving up….
- donutsdemise - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:00 AM
  
  The puck wasn’t covered at all in game 6. It clearly sailed through Lundqvist’s legs and ended up on Henrique’s stick before he slammed it home. Henrique didn’t whack Henrik’s pad 4 times.
miketoasty - Jun 4, 2012 at 11:57 PM

As Deboer said, when the ref loses sight of the puck he’s supposed to blow the whistle. Refs are too worried about making the wrong call at this point…
- manchestermiracle - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:00 AM
  
  What makes you think the ref lost sight of the puck? He didn’t blow his whistle so he must still have had sight of it. Like DeBoer, second guessing the refs doesn’t begin to address the simple fact that your team is being outplayed by a wide margin…
  - donutsdemise - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:02 AM
    
    did you see the angle the ref was at? the puck was out of sight unless he was in front of the goal… and he was behind it on the back side of the play.
  - donutsdemise - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:02 AM
    
    Kings fans are a bunch of Lakers fans with nothing to do. Hockey doesn’t belong in LA.
  - manchestermiracle - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:14 AM
    
    Did you see the back-side camera replay? Have you actually seen ANY replay? When the ref was pointing at the puck in the net he was in FRONT of the net. Brodeur had no control of the puck and his leg wasn’t on the ice. So what? How about the other 3 goals? You sound as narrow-minded as DeBoer. Do you really think the result would have been any different? This wasn’t a game-winning goal, this was with plenty of time left in the game for the Devils to do something, anything. They got their asses handed to them throughout the game and lost by 4 goals, not 1.
    
    Your last statement is just sour grapes and stupid. I was a Kings fan before I was a Lakers fan and I got to attend several games in the late ’80s and early ’90s. I got to watch Gretzky in person, the greatest player ever, and HE thought hockey belonged in SoCal. You’ve obviously never been to Southern California if you think there’s nothing to do. By your logic hockey doesn’t belong anywhere south of Minnesota. Guess what, douchebag, there’s plenty of ice in the mountains surrounding L.A.
manchestermiracle - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:22 AM

Listening to the apologists on NHLN cry about the first goal is hilarious. The Devils are getting away with multiple fouls and the best the yahoos on NHLN can come up with is second guessing the ref when they couldn’t possibly have seen what he saw. There isn’t a camera on the referees’ helmets. You aren’t in a position to see what he sees. If the best you can do to explain why your team is getting hammered is to complain about the officiating then you might as well just pack up your sticks and skates and go the hell home. SHUT UP AND SKATE!

The Devils got 6 PPs in the first 2 games and 6 in this one alone, yet you don’t hear the Kings saying a word about the refs.I guess it was the refs who scored twice on the PP against the Devils, right? ‘Cause to listen to Devils fans they aren’t being schooled by the Kings. They have a million excuses, but the Kings outplaying their team can’t possibly be the reason they’re down 3 games, right?
- polegojim - Jun 5, 2012 at 9:37 AM
  
  That’s exactly the point. I could see complaining if this was the game winner… but not even remotely so.
  
  How horrible to blow SOOOO many PP, 5:3 chances. On a couple of the Devils PPs, the KINGS had better scoring opportunities!!!
  
  The Devils lost because they were not as good as Kings, period.
hrudey - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:33 AM

It looks like it was a bad call, but bad calls happen. How teams react to calls that don’t go their way says a lot about them — the Coyotes cried and whined and the Kings just put them out of their misery. To the Devils’ credit, they didn’t really act out too badly about this one, other than Brodeur immediately afterward. But if they couldn’t score when gifted a 6-0 power play advantage through 2, including a 5-on-3, to act as if this call decided the game would be ridiculous.
blomfeld - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:36 AM

GET LOST De BEERS !

This idiot should either “zip it” or go back to mining for diamonds ! The puck was still loose, the ref was right on top of the play and therefore justice was done ! I honestly can’t say that I know much about this clown DeBoer ? … however, I do know that Coach Sutter would never start whining like this were he to be in a similar predicament …

GO KINGS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dannythebisforbeast - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:39 AM

It wouldn’t have changed the outcome. But it’s pretty easy. If the puck was under brodeurs pad the ref cannot see it therefore the ref blows the whistle. Cut and dry.
stakex - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:45 AM

The argument can be made that the puck was only covered for a very brief second. Its not uncommon for a ref to allow players one or two hacks to try and free a puck, and thats what happened. Its understandable Devils fans will be made at the call, but I certainly wouldn’t say it was a “bad” call.

Besides, this goal should have sparked the Devils. It put their backs up against the wall, and they should be been even more dangerous stareing down the barrel of a 3-0 hole… yet the Kings man handled them in the 3rd period and proved that, in the end, this one call didn’t mena a whole lot.
dewangrp - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:50 AM

Instead of crying about one goal, maybe Deboer needs to concetrate on why his team is 0-12 on powerplays including a 5 on 3 in the 1st period. Devils have more issues than the call of one goal.
michaell1998 - Jun 5, 2012 at 1:23 AM

The first goal does matter. It changes the momentum. So thats bs if you think it doesnt effect the rest of the game
- cweez2 - Jun 5, 2012 at 10:08 AM
  
  I’d argue killing the 5 on 3 did more for LA – and demoralized NJ.
mclovinhockey - Jun 5, 2012 at 3:37 AM

anyone recall letangs OT winner vs Montreal??? Price had it covered for longer than this and the play wasn’t blown dead. FYI not a fan of any of the 4 teams I talked about in this……
Oh and for the guy saying hockey doesn’t belong in LA, doesn’t belong in Jersey as well, look at that horrible fan base
creasemasta41 - Jun 5, 2012 at 3:58 AM

seeing the words blew and blowing in the headlines i thought for sure this was gonna be an article about paulina gretzky
mungman69 - Jun 5, 2012 at 6:50 AM

I’m from South Jersey (Philly) and I’ve been to Southern California lots and there’s plenty to do.
id4joey - Jun 5, 2012 at 6:56 AM

Blah blah…. DeBoer, maybe we should ask Marty to score a few goals. Oh! And we’re seeing a breakdown in defensive coverage. What’s up with that?
smushrodriguez - Jun 5, 2012 at 7:56 AM

Maybe the defenseman should have cleared the forward from in front of net.
sjsharks66 - Jun 5, 2012 at 9:36 AM

Manchester, do you even know what you are talking about most of the time? You sound like the biggest bandwagon fan I’ve seen yet.
- manchestermiracle - Jun 5, 2012 at 10:41 AM
  
  From the sound of your reply I get the impression I’ve been a Kings fan longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve certainly been a fan much longer than the existence of YOUR team. Ever heard of the Triple Crown Line (Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer)? That’s how long I’ve been a fan. Back in the days when the Kings’ offense was setting NHL records. Back when the Fabulous Forum was their home and rocked like Staples Center did last night. So sorry (not) about your Sharks, but if you have any real counterpoints to my statements why not make them instead of resorting to lame retorts that only expose your intellectual inferiority?
cweez2 - Jun 5, 2012 at 10:10 AM

That’s one goal. What about the other 3? What about the lack of scoring? Good teams – Stanley Cup winning teams – overcome that.
- govtminion - Jun 5, 2012 at 11:15 AM
  
  DING! We have a winner. If it had been a 1-0 game, he’d have every right to be pissed. But if we take this goal back, he still lost 3-0. Momentum? Please. This is the Stanley Cup Finals- if you can’t find a way to get fired up to come back from being down a goal in the second period, you may as well hand the other guys the Cup now and save everyone the trouble.
  
  Yes, it was a bad call. It happens to everyone now and then- and isn’t important if your team goes out and scores the next one to tie it up. Focus on that in Game 4 rather than coming up with excuses.
sjsharks66 - Jun 5, 2012 at 10:58 AM

Alrite, you may have been watching the kings 20 years ago, but where have you been recently? I have not seen you on here defending the kings until the cup finals. All I know is I was in LA this weekend and the amount of stands on the side of the road selling fake kings merchandise for 5$ (jerseys were about 15$) was ridiculous. All of a sudden LA loved their kings and embraced hockey. So pardon me for assuming you were one of them. If not then you are pretty excited to see them win on Wednesday, yeah?
- adambhoy - Jun 5, 2012 at 1:08 PM
  
  I just can’t believe there is an argument between someone from LA and someone from San Jose about who are the better, least-bandwagony hockey fans between the two of them.
lettersfrommymind - Jun 5, 2012 at 11:51 AM

I believe the refs should have blown the whistle but I don’t think that would have made a differnce in the outcome of the game. As far as Kings fans come lately……Gretzky said it best. He said what is happening with the Kings right now is making a lot of people in SOCAL feel good during rough times. There are not of lot of true sports cities out there like in the Northeast but I can’t blame the SOCALS for getting into it. What the Kings are doing is amazing. I’m a die hard Bruins fan but I’ve been rooting for the Kings since the B’s were ousted.

If you want to see a hysterical video satiring Kings fans come lately then watch this .http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/6vfw
Don’t bother with the last 50 seconds of the video. It’s great up until then. Enjoy the Kings SOCAL whether your a long time Kings fan or a new one. We had it last year and it’s a blast.
dannymac17 - Jun 5, 2012 at 12:06 PM

coulda sworn that 5 on 3 happened before that goal.

maybe the Devils shoulda complained about not getting a 5 on 2.
sjsharks66 - Jun 5, 2012 at 1:11 PM

I would agree with you until I saw it for myself in LA. Everyone is a kings fan rite now. I don’t hate the kings or their true fans, but the bandwagon is strong with this one.
xaf605 - Jun 5, 2012 at 4:44 PM

It’s not like the devils didn’t have their chances
masher5492 - Jun 5, 2012 at 5:17 PM

I’m a kings fan through and through. I like the lakers but I don’t root for them as loyally as I do the kings.
rake661 - Jun 5, 2012 at 8:22 PM

I have tissues for the devil fans out there..you Cry babies….
zinfman - Jun 9, 2012 at 11:03 AM

ANOTHER horrible call! Not that the Devil’s have any right to complain after playing the Rangers series a man up for like…..what….oh yeah, 6 Games!!
zinfman - Jun 9, 2012 at 11:07 AM

Exactly!

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