Jon Cooper backtracked and shifted a possible missed call to the rearview mirror with the expertise of a coach who has been here before. Counterpart Jared Bednar, on the verge of his first NHL championship, sought to settle the issue once and for all and move on.

Still, the Stanley Cup Final is roaring toward a conclusion full of uncertainty about the officiating, which is in the for all the wrong reasons after put the Colorado Avalanche up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The goal came with what Cooper and his Tampa Bay Lightning thought was No penalty was called, and now the Avalanche are one victory away from knocking off the back-to-back defending champions.

B次元官网网址淲ill one call make the difference in the series? No,B次元官网网址� Hall of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr said in a phone interview. B次元官网网址淐olorado was the better team in overtime, thereB次元官网网址檚 no question. Do you hope it doesnB次元官网网址檛 end on a play like that? Yeah. You hope that itB次元官网网址檚 something nice and clean and simple because instead of talking about what a good hockey game it was, everybodyB次元官网网址檚 talking about the play.B次元官网网址�

The play in question involved Kadri B次元官网网址� after B次元官网网址� jumping on the ice for a line change early, with teammate Nathan MacKinnon still roughly 40 feet from the bench. When Kadri scored, MacKinnon still had a skate on the ice, and the joining player isnB次元官网网址檛 supposed to even touch the puck in that situation.

B次元官网网址淧layers, weB次元官网网址檙e looking for every inch to get an advantage and try and jump in the play when you know your change is coming,B次元官网网址� Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said Thursday. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 impossible to say whatB次元官网网址檚 the right decision there. ItB次元官网网址檚 so fast, and it probably happens a million more times a game more than we think.B次元官网网址�

ThereB次元官网网址檚 some leeway for officials to judge too many men on the ice, and Tampa Bay technically had seven, though the players changing for each other were much closer to the home bench.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e changing on the fly, everything happens,B次元官网网址� Bednar said. B次元官网网址淚 count 7-6 at one point, so that is what it is. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the way the game is played. I donB次元官网网址檛 see it as a break or a non-break. I actually see it as nothing.B次元官网网址�

In a statement sent to The Associated Press after ColoradoB次元官网网址檚 3-2 victory, the leagueB次元官网网址檚 Department of Hockey Operations deemed it a judgment call.

B次元官网网址淚n discussing the winning goal, each of the four officials advised that they did not see a too many men on the ice situation on the play,B次元官网网址� the statement read. B次元官网网址淭his call is not subject to video review either by Hockey Ops or the on-ice officials.B次元官网网址�

Should it be?

The NHL expanded video review in 2015 to coachB次元官网网址檚 challenges for offside and goaltender interference. Incidents in the 2019 playoffs led to more situations that coaches and officials can take an extra look at in the name of getting it right, though itB次元官网网址檚 limited to potential stoppages like a hand pass or the puck hitting the protective netting above the glass.

But at a time when video reviews put a drag on games in all sports and leagues are working to trim those extra minutes of precious time, thereB次元官网网址檚 hardly an appetite for the NHL to make EVERYTHING subject to replay.

General managers will undoubtedly discuss this at the draft in Montreal next month, and perhaps the long-debated, so-called B次元官网网址渆ye in the skyB次元官网网址� third referee concept will pick up steam. That could address at least the most obvious missed calls that might be seen and caught better from atop an arena than in the middle of all the action on the ice.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e got the hardest job in sport,B次元官网网址� Fuhr said of NHL officials. B次元官网网址淭he gameB次元官网网址檚 gotten bigger, faster and they have to keep up and thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be missed calls along the way. ThatB次元官网网址檚 just hockey.B次元官网网址�

Hotly debated calls have long been a part of hockey, and many New York Islanders fans were quick to point out the Lightning appeared to have too many men on the ice for the only goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final last year. Philadelphia Flyers fans still bring up the B次元官网网址淟eon Stickle GameB次元官网网址� when the linesman of that name missed an obvious offside on an Islanders goal in the 1980 clinching game of their first of four Stanley Cup championships in a row.

Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, a star of that Islanders dynasty who won his seventh Cup title as an Avalanche assistant in 2001 and is coaching in the new 3ICE 3-on-3 league with Fuhr, said winning is about managing B次元官网网址渢he lucky bounce, the fortuitous bounce, the referee call: the something that can happen thatB次元官网网址檚 out of your control that just kind of goes against you.B次元官网网址�

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B次元官网网址淭hose things, they can go for you or against you,B次元官网网址� Trottier said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got to take advantage when they go for you, and youB次元官网网址檝e got to just move on when they go against you.B次元官网网址�

Another judgment call earlier in the Game 4 allowed a Lightning goal to count after the puck shot at Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper knocked his mask off, with officials deciding not to stop play because the rulebook states it should continue if a scoring chance is in progress.

Before flying to Denver for Game 5 on Friday with his team down 3-1, Cooper tried to move on. Little more than 12 hours since he was nearly speechless, he called hockey B次元官网网址渁n inexact scienceB次元官网网址� and sought to distance himself B次元官网网址� sort of B次元官网网址� from how Game 4 ended.

B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 great about today is that itB次元官网网址檚 not yesterday,B次元官网网址� Cooper said. B次元官网网址淣othing we can do to turn back. They missed it. ItB次元官网网址檚 unfortunate, but itB次元官网网址檚 water under the bridge now. LetB次元官网网址檚 go get ready.B次元官网网址�

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press

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