from Michael Russo of the Star Tribune,

Last Wednesday, the day before the Wild played in Toronto, the league again granted access to the Star Tribune.

The only consistent problem that has arisen is on offside challenges. Unlike goalie interference challenges where the league has at its disposal its own overhead, in-net and in-post cameras, the league is at the mercy of broadcast camera positions on offside challenges. So at the outdoor games in Minneapolis and Denver, the league tested cameras at both blue lines. At the All-Star Game, the league tested eight cameras at each blue line on the glass and in the rafters.

The situation room staffers loved the looks they got and plan to recommend the cameras to the GMs next week with the hope of implementing them in time for the playoffs.

“The big surprise to all of us is how many offside plays [72] have been challenged,” said Kris King, the NHL’s senior vice president of hockey operations. “This was put in place for those egregious offside goals that we couldn’t do anything about.

“Now we’re talking about inches and millimeters and feet in the air and it’s real hard because of where our cameras are positioned in our buildings. We can’t tell sometimes. We have to prove it 100 percent, so sometimes we’re leaning toward inconclusive. But one offside goal we miss could be a big, big goal come playoff time.”

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