Bruins coach Claude Julien rages against NHL replay system after controversial call
Boston fans just can't catch a break when it comes to in-game technology. On Sunday, the New England Patriots struggled to get their Microsoft Surface tablets to work on the sidelines for the AFC Championship game. On Monday, Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien ripped the NHL replay system and the size of the screens refs use to judge gameplay reviews.
The controversial play in question for the Bruins came with just over eight minutes left in the third period of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Wayne Simmonds scored to tie the game at 2-2, but Julien called for a coach's challenge to argue that Philadelphia's Michael Del Zotto was offsides on the play. After reviewing the play on the provided handheld tablets, the officials determined that the review was not conclusive enough to overturn the call on the ice.
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The ruling did not satisfy Julien, who railed against the NHL's replay system after the game in an interview with NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley.
Via NESN:
"It was upsetting. To me, I’m still disagreeing with that," Julien said. "It looked like (Del Zotto) had his foot up in the air. But I guess when you have an eight-inch monitor to look at, it’s probably not as clear as a big screen. So, we have to live with some of those things, and to me, it was a frustrating incident. But at the same time, we needed to win this game, so I’m really proud of the way the guys responded.”
On a computer, the replay does seem to show Del Zotto was offsides, but the image might not have been as clear on a smaller tablet.
The goal did not end up costing the Bruins, who picked up two points from a 3-2 win thanks to a Brett Connolly goal in the waning minutes of the game.
Arielle Aronson writes about the NHL for FOX Sports. You can follow her on Twitter @aharonson28.
