Blues Are Undefeated In Postseason With Game 6 Referee Pairing
BOSTON (CBS) -- Whether you like it or not, officiating has been a major storyline throughout the Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and Blues. That's going to continue until the series ends, whether that comes on Sunday or Wednesday after a Game 7.
As far as the present is concerned, the outlook looks very good for the Blues from an officiating standpoint.
That's because, as has been the case for all of the even-numbered games in the Stanley Cup Final, the referees for Game 6 will be Chris Rooney and Gord Dwyer.
This postseason, the Blues are 5-0 when that duo has reffed together. That includes Games 2 and 4 of this series, which saw the Blues win 2-1 in overtime and 4-2, respectively. It also includes Game 4 of the Western Conference Final and Games 1 and 6 of the second round.
When playing with Rooney and Dwyer paired up this postseason, the Bruins are 2-2. One win came in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, a 6-2 win at home over the Carolina Hurricanes. The other came in Game 4 in Columbus, a game remembered for both referees missing the puck hitting the protective netting just prior to a Columbus goal. The two losses, of course, have come in the Stanley Cup Final.
Overall this postseason, the Blues are 7-0 in games reffed by Rooney and 5-1 in games reffed by Dwyer.
The Bruins are 2-3 in games reffed by Rooney, and 3-2 in games reffed by Dwyer.
(All information tracked by ScoutingTheRefs, though that information was missing Game 6 of the second round.)
Of course, looking only at win-loss records isn't always indicative of the referees' impact on any game. For example, the Hurricanes were given four power plays compared to the Bruins' two power plays in that Game 2, but the Bruins still got out to a 6-0 lead early in the third period. In this Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins were given five power plays to St. Louis' three in Game 2 (though the game-winning goal was scored on a delayed penalty on Boston).
Still, in terms of positive mojo in the officiating, the Bruins -- while facing elimination -- would probably have preferred to not see a 5-0 record for the Blues with Game 6's refereeing duo.