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Kalman: Coach's Challenge Won't Be A Cure-All For NHL

BOSTON (CBS) - Unless the Bruins' current 0-3-3 stretch has so repulsed you that you've turned your attention to the NCAA tournament or spring training baseball instead of the local hockey team, by now you know that Bruins coach Claude Julien is an ardent supporter of bringing the coach's challenge to the NHL, especially for goaltender interference calls.

The Bruins lost in overtime Thursday after Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry drove to the net, made contact with Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask and tipped the puck into the net with 39 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score 2-2.

"There was, no doubt goalie interference there and that's why they talk about reviewing those kinds of goals and coaches' challenges, because you can't allow those kinds of goals," Julien said after the Bruins settled for one point and a tie with Ottawa for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. "This was a big point we lost tonight on a missed call. Those are the things that are hard to swallow right now."

After practice on Friday at TD Garden, Julien continued to maintain not only that Perry interfered with Rask, but that plays like that one should be reviewable. Julien didn't want to accuse the referees of blowing the call, he just wanted them to have the opportunity to double check their work.

The idea of a coach's challenge is moving closer to reality. At the general managers' meetings in Florida last week, coach's challenges were approved even though the exact details were not hammered out. By this time next season, though, Julien will probably have some way of making the referees look at a crucial play like Perry's.

There's no video review now, and so the Bruins didn't get what Julien called "justice" against the Ducks. And other similar plays figure to break for or against the Bruins the rest of the way, as Boston's forwards try to generate offense by making goaltending difficult for the giants wearing all the extra equipment that are protecting the net.

We've seen it time and again even before Perry's brush with Rask. Goals are allowed, goals are disallowed. Penalties are called for goaltender interference, and sometimes incidental contact is called and play resumes with the same manpower. It's all left up to the interpretation of two guys wearing striped shirts.

"It's hard to say. I think that's why it's been such a big topic, not only this year but the last few years," Bruins forward Milan Lucic said about the goaltender interference rule's enforcement. "It's because it seems there is a lot of grey area. We've seen examples of a forward that's already in their position and the goalie goes into them and they call that a disallowed goal where that should be a good goal. But if a goalie has his position established and you come and take him out, to me that should be disallowed."

Lucic has a clear understanding of the rule as it's written. But there's obviously sporadic enforcement of it. And that's where the game would definitely change if video review came into play. Players get away with some contact now. Video review would catch every time a player and goaltender touch. Suddenly forwards who are already offensively challenged would have to be extra careful with their net drives and battles near the blue paint. No one wants the embarrassment of being the reason for a disallowed goal.

The NHL could be in danger of returning us to the era of goals being disallowed (except in overtime in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals) because of a player's toe being in the crease if play is stopped to go to the tape every time a shot is attempted and there might've been contact with the goaltender.

Video review in the NHL, as in the other professional sports, would be wrought with other issues. If a coach doesn't have any challenges left, how is he going to prevent a bad call from beating his team? Why are plays at the end of games more important than earlier ones that were called incorrectly? Why is goaltender interference more egregious a call to blow than say a hooking penalty, like the one called on Zdeno Chara in overtime Thursday? And then there's the matter of officials making the call on the ice and then correcting themselves. It's difficult to admit one makes a mistake. And what if the video review just isn't definitive?

The Bruins, to their credit, didn't blame the Perry non-call for their loss. They know that one more play made to clear the puck, one more goal scored, a little more time spent in the Ducks' end by winning some battles or forechecking better would've clinched the victory before Perry had a chance to play hero. Julien's complaint about the call both allowed him to express his opinion about the future of the league and take a little heat off his team's failure to close out the Ducks.

The Bruins would be best to worry about playing better rather than missed calls and the absence of video review with only eight games left to earn a playoff berth. And going forward, Julien and his colleagues should be wary of adding the video review because there will still be grey areas and disputes, and video review is not the cure-all so many think it is.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.

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