from Bruce Dowbiggin at the Globe and Mail,

You could see it in the face of Edmonton head coach Ralph Krueger on Thursday when his defenceman Ladislav Smid was called for closing his hand on the puck. There was also a faceoff interference called on the Oil, a goalie interference penalty along with an instigator call on Smid for provoking a fight while wearing a facemask. Check, check and check.

“That’s not the way it was called in the past,” Krueger’s tortured expression seemed to say.

Indeed it’s not something that was called in the second half of the 2011-12 season. There were many things that were not called as the L.A. Kings made their way from eighth seed to NHL champions. It’s a point a number of general managers made at the end of the season during their meetings with NHL Ops, the people responsible for refereeing.

Vancouver president and general manager Mike Gillis spoke for the group. “Guys have learned from the rules, and they’ve adapted,” said Gillis this summer. “I’m a fan of offensive hockey, and I think the league is too. If not, we should change the name of the game to ‘goalie.’ We have to keep scoring in the game. But right now, it’s not happening.

“I think that the entertainment value is born out of having momentum changes and offensive opportunities and penalties being called. That’s great hockey, and I think everyone here would share the opinion that the hockey in the last three or four years has been the best it’s ever been. So a retreat from that doesn’t seem to make any sense to me.”

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