Video replay can’t deal with the supernatural mysticism of hockey

An unfortunate mistake was made at a crucial moment in Sunday’s Panthers-Bruins playoff game.

The Bruins led early, but were in the process of handing it back. During a Florida power play in the third, Bruins forward Charlie Coyle drifted slowly toward his own net. Panther Sam Bennett hovered behind him.

As a scrum formed in the goalmouth, Bennett gave Coyle a light shove. More of a bracing, really. Coyle tipped over onto his goalie, Jeremy Swayman, who was already splay-legged in the crease.

While the two Bruins lolled on the ice, the puck caromed out to Bennett, who tapped it into the empty side of the goal.

Why was Coyle facing his own goal? And why was he hovering right on top of his goalie? Why was he standing in the crease at all? The only way you’re stopping anything in that position is if a snapshot hits you in the back of the head. These are the important questions about that play.

Instead, Boston immediately turned to an appeal to the video-replay booth back in Toronto. That was the unfortunate part.

In the old NHL, we accepted that what happened within five feet of the goal line stayed within five feet of the goal line. There’s too much going on in there to sort it out after the fact.

With video review, we have all joined the Warren Commission and are nightly handed the Zapruder film. Let’s slow this baby down to 1/25th speed and focus in on whose skate blade was which side of what opponent’s stick.

In this case, they got it right. The goal was allowed. Florida went on to win 3-2.

It got more unfortunate after the game when the Bruins’ pulled out their Big Book of Complaints and Excuses.

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“The fact is that Coyle was pushed into me. I couldn’t play my position,” Swayman said. “In that moment, I didn’t know what exactly happened. I just know I couldn’t play my position. And the review showed that.”

By this logic, every time a guy is coming up the ice with his head down and is knocked into next week, he has been prevented from ‘playing his position.’

If Swayman wants unfettered freedom of his crease, maybe he ought to put up a sign in the lunchroom advising teammates not to hang around inside it. The playing-his-position…