New York Post: Refs’ Dangerous Let-Em-Play Policy Is Killing Offense

Recently, I had this discussion with a friend of mine. His argument was, if you want to increase scoring, the refs need to blow the whistle more. If you think about this, it sounds like a simple solution.

Basically, in a nutshell, it would appear that the number of penalties being called on the ice in the NHL are down this season.

Brett Cyrgalis, New York Post – So many games I’ve seen this year have devolved into something out of Jacques Lemaire’s Devils playbook. And you know who does about as well at it as anyone? Those fast-paced Rangers. That one-goal lead they held in the third period Thursday night against the Wild — there was no chance they were letting that slip away, because there was no chance they were letting Minnesota players get out of arm’s reach. Dump it in, get a third man high, clog the neutral zone, double-team in corners — and if someone happens to get a good look, let it be one-on-one with the goalie.

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Yes, there are other factors in why scoring is so low. The goalie equipment is huge, and the nets are the same size. The talent pool is now fully international, and the teams are deeper.

But if the league wants more scoring — which you would think it does — they have to start with the officiating. And it’s too late now, the regular season is practically over, and the new version of officiating is about to take effect

What do you think? There may be something to the argument. This season, there’s not one player close to scoring 100 points. The NHL only has five players that have a shot a making 80 points. Currently, only Sidney Crosby has scored (26g-54a—80pts).