Islanders: Three worst calls against them in last year

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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – MARCH 09: Anders Lee #27 of the New York Islanders argues with referee Dean Morton #36 during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on March 09, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Think back over the 68 games of the New York Islanders 2019-20 season. What were some of the worst calls made against the Isles? Did any make this list?

I’m sure the New York Islanders aren’t the only fan base to feel like their team is sometimes battling two teams out on the ice. One team is wearing the other colored sweater on the other side of the red line, while the second team is the ones in the stripes. The officials.

Again, just like every fan base, it feels like on some night’s the refs have it in for us. As in no matter what happens, the Isles aren’t going to get a fair call.

Look, officials have a tough job. They have to make crucial decisions in a split second every game. Obviously, sometimes they’ll get it wrong. But on some days it just feels like they’ve decided they just won’t apply the rule book in the same way for the Isles.

For this post, I wanted to focus on three of the worst calls made by officials to go against the New York Islanders in the 2019-20 season.

I’m not talking about penalties that should have been called that weren’t. I’m not talking about how Chris Wagner was able to lay on top of Jordan Eberle for 15+ seconds or the 15 times Mathew Barzal took a high stick to the face with no call.

(Remember when he said he looked like Kylie Jenner to Shannon Hogan?)

What I’m talking about are calls that either directly resulted in a loss or took a goal off the board for no good reason whatsoever. I’m talking about the three worst calls made against the Isles this season.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and the New York Islanders defend the net against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

“Goalie interference”

On February 25, the Isles were playing the Rangers at the Coli. With the score 3-1 for the visitors 12:16 into the third period, it looks like Anders Lee was able to redirect a puck past Alexandar Georgiev to make it 3-2.

Except the refs say it isn’t a good goal on the ice. After a review, they confirm the call on the ice and now the Isles have to kill a delay of the game penalty for an unsuccessful challenge.

Here’s the play:

https://twitter.com/IslesMSGN/status/1232489665925509120

Where’s the interference exactly? Looking at the NHL rule book it’s clear that the refs were using this passage from rule 69.3 to justify their “no goal” call on the ice:

If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the goal crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

But look at Lee prior to the contact. He’s not in the crease at all. Maybe his back-end is on the line. But there isn’t anything over the line. So, based on the reading of 69.3, there’s no justification for Georgiev to challenge Lee. Again, where is the interference here?

After seeing no goalie interference call given to Greg McKegg for literally skating through the crease and connecting with Semyon Varlamov‘s skate earlier in the game, or how this play from the Isles 2019 playoff run wasn’t goalie interference, it’s wild that this is.

It’s not to say that the Isles win the game if this goal stands, but it would have gone a long way to help them do so.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: Derick Brassard #10 of the New York Islanders skates against the New York Rangers at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Brassard’s Late Cross-Check

On repeated occasions, we’ve heard that refs don’t like to be the ones who decide the outcome of games, so when time is running out and the score is close, the whistles get stuffed in their pockets…metaphorically. Unless you’re Derick Brassard and there’s less than a minute left in the game.

Late in the third period on January 16, the Isles were facing the Rangers. And at 19:06 of the third period, Islanders forward Derick Brassard took a two minute minor for cross-checking Jesper Fast. If you don’t’ remember the play here’s a tweet with the video.

It’s not debatable whether that’s cross-checking. It is. But again, refs don’t usually call that s late in the game with the score tied. Brassard had cross-checked Fast just seconds before he went down. Why wasn’t the other one called?

To me, it’s because Fast drops like a bag of hammers the second he felt contact on the second cross-check. The refs award the call because of the dramatics by the Rangers forward. Just look at how delayed Fast’s actions are after Brassard’s initial contact.

But again, based on the time left in regulation referees typically don’t make this type of call. That’s why Brassard couldn’t believe it when he was called for cross-checking. At best this was offsetting minors to Brassard and Fast. But the Isles were the only ones to get a penalty.

Seconds later Chris Kreider would score on the power play to give the Rangers two points. Crushing.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – MARCH 07: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on March 07, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Svechnikov High Stick

Against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7 the Islanders were in a dog fight with their division rival. After 60 minutes the score was tied 2-2. Overtime would be needed to settle who got the second point.

At 1:36 into the extra frame, Vincent Trocheck would score a goal to settle it. Except it seemed like in playing the puck for the goal, Andrei Svechnikov had used a high-stick to play the puck.

According to the NHL rule book, it’s OK to play a puck so long as the contact with the puck is made below the shoulder (see rule 80.1). However, that changes if the puck goes directly into the net. A high stick for a goal is the hight of the crossbar (see rule 80.3).

The league felt that contact was made below Svechnikov’s shoulder and so it wasn’t a high stick. Looking at this still image I’d say the stick made contact above Svechnikov’s shoulder.

This should be called back #Isles pic.twitter.com/n3NUfMti3n
— ????? ??? (@IslesFix) March 7, 2020

After a convergence around the iPad, the refs decided that it was a good goal. Barry Trotz was not happy afterward. Barry isn’t one to go after the refs, but when he was walking off the ice he had a rather heated exchange with the officials.

I have a hard time with this one. If the puck had gone in the net like Svechnikov had intended it to this wouldn’t have been a fair goal. But because it hit the crossbar and bounced to Trocheck it was a good goal. That’s ridiculous.

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What made this worse was Scott Mayfield was cut him under his eye and the Isles did not receive a call for it while the Isles took two double minors in the game without once causing injury.

At least the Islanders got a point in the game, but it felt like they were battling the Canes as well as the opposition in this one.

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