ST. LOUIS — There are three things for certain in life: death, taxes and the St. Louis Blues just got screwed.
Timo Meyer, yes he did, executed a hand pass. This is on you NHL. On you.
This was a Don Denkinger moment. It was not the World Series in the Stanley Cup Finals, but it could end up costing the Blues a chance to end the drought.
How did you feel Thursday morning? Maybe exactly how the New Orleans Saints felt after the NFC Championship game.
This was so wrong on so many levels.
First, the league itself gets blame for not allowing the play to be reviewed.
Why do you have technology in place if you are not going to use it? Why can you review an off-side play but not the potential game winning goal in a Western Conference Final? It would take 20 or 30 seconds. Do the officials have an important flight to catch?
The officials themselves are the real culprits.
Are you watching the game? Are there not four of you on the ice as this thing is happening?
OK, if one of you missed it, fine, but four of you missed a hand pass. Four of you? Jordan Binnington saw it. He told you right away. The NBC broadcasters saw it, Joe Micheletti said it right away. However, the people who are paid to actually watch the game did not see it.
NHL, it’s not real difficult.
Every goal should be allowed to be reviewed. Hockey is not like baseball where each game lasts too long. No fan would ever complain if the game went five minutes longer just so you can make the proper call.
I imagine like after the Rams-Saints disaster, the rule will be changed. A lot of good that does to the St. Louis Blues on this Thursday morning.
MOVING FORWARD
Now the question is how do the Blues respond? After the game, they almost refused to even acknowledge the horrendous call. That was bad news for reporters wanting a reaction, but probably really good for the team moving forward.
The good news in this situation is unlike the Saints, the Blues have a chance to respond. The 1985 Cardinals had a chance to respond also after the terrible call in 1985. Instead, they folded like a napkin and the Royals won a World Series with an 11-0 victory.
The Sharks will not blowout the Blues on Friday night in Game 4. You could sense it in the locker room after the game.
The team that rose from the dead in January will respond. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but you could see it in their eyes.
In fact, this will be one of the greatest motivating items in sports. Period two Wednesday night may have been their most productive of the post season. I think period one of Game 4 will be their most energized.
THE BLUES HAD THEIR CHANCES
Just think for a moment if the empty netter by Jaden Schwartz would have gone in. The game is over. Just think for a moment if the Blues played a little tighter in the final moments of regulation and prevent the game tying goal. The game is over.
It’s a shame because the second period was simply amazing. All the things you needed to see, you witnessed in about four minutes.
You need everybody contributing. You got a magnificent pass from Ivan Barbashev to Alexander Steen.
You need Vladimir Tarasenko to establish himself and what a sensational goal!
You want to David Perron and the power play to show up. Perron had back to back goals.
So, it was a Wednesday night of hockey we will never forget in St. Louis. Never.
To borrow the Herb Brooks vernacular those officials should take this game to their blanking graves, their blanking graves.
It’s now up to the Blues to make that moment just a bump in the road on the road to the Stanley Cup Finals.
More Game 3 reactions from the Blues: