from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

“Does it matter?”

That was the refrain of Leafs coach Mike Babcock after his team won two coach’s challenges in a row after goals had been scored on offside plays that had been missed, but lost the game anyway.

To his credit, he kept up the refrain the very next game, when the Leafs had a goal called back on an offside and won the game anyway. What seemed galling to Babcock, and others, is that the offside call had little to do with the goal.

“An offside that you miss by a fraction of an inch that caused a goal, a goal that had nothing really to do with being offside, does it matter?” Babcock asked. “I don’t know if it matters. Should those two goals that we called back really count? I thought they were good plays. I thought they should count. That’s just me.”

Players and coaches around the NHL are questioning whether the coach’s challenge — reviewing goals when the play might have been offside, or goals where the goalie might have been interfered with — is working.

“There’s a few (challenges) you throw out there you’re not betting your life on,” said Carolina coach Bill Peters. “If it gets the call right, I think it’s good. “There are a lot of times too you don’t know which way it’s going to go. You watch some of the reviews, it goes one way or another, and half the room goes: ‘I can’t believe that’s a goal.’

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