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What Joe Sacco said about Bruins’ controversial decision to not challenge for offside vs. Sharks
"I thought it was possession. I don't know."
All of the good vibes drawn out of the Bruins’ two wins over the Lightning and Panthers following the trade deadline have completely dissipated.
Since those victories, the Bruins have now dropped five games in a row, with a roster that traded five lineup regulars at the deadline and is skating without their top two defensemen.
Saturday night marked another low for a laboring Bruins team, with Boston falling to the worst team in the NHL in the San Jose Sharks, 3-1, at SAP Center. It marked the first time that San Jose defeated Boston since March 15, 2016.
Beyond the optics of a reeling Bruins team losing to the worst team in the NHL, Boston also lost in crushing fashion, with Sharks defenseman Lucas Carlsson breaking a 1-1 deadlock with a go-ahead tally with just 3:23 left in regulation.
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To add insult to injury, Carlsson’s eventual game-winner looked as though it was going to be negated upon video review. Ahead of Carlsson’s goal, defenseman Timothy Liljegren entered the offensive zone with the puck seemingly on his stick — a sequence that seemed to be offside after Sharks forward William Eklund did not tag up in time.
Once Carlsson lit the lamp, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco consulted with his assistant coaches (and the team’s video crew) during a timeout — but ultimately opted not to challenge for offside on the play.
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San Jose went on to add an empty-netter from Barclay Goodrow with 50 seconds left to ice the game.
Speaking to NESN’s Andy Brickley postgame, Sacco offered up his explanation as to why the Bruins did not opt to challenge for offside ahead of Carlsson’s goal.
“From our perspective, the player [Liljegren] that was carrying the puck, he did not have possession,” Sacco told Brickley. He let go of it before he entered the blue line. Therefore, that other player had the ability to tag up before he got possession again with it.”
During NESN’s postgame coverage, Billy Jaffe, Dale Arnold, and Andrew Raycroft debated the decision to not review the play, both in regards to the timing of the challenge and whether or not Liljegren had possession when he crossed over the blue line.
“Joe Sacco told Andy Brickley — you’ll hear the whole thing in a few minutes — that they didn’t think that the San Jose player had possession,” Arnold said. “I think they’re wrong.
“And what do you have to lose? At this point — so if you’re wrong, you’re shorthanded,” Jaffe added. “You are still giving up a goal. I mean, am I missing something?”
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“Now the opposite side — if you’re getting it in your ear to not call it, don’t challenge it,” Raycroft replied. “You don’t want to challenge it just for the sake of doing it and then being down 5-on-4 with two minutes left to possibly score an empty net.
“Like you still need to want to get it right as a coaching staff, you don’t just throw it out there,” Raycroft added. “So if they feel like this is exactly not 100% possession … [The video staff] might have something that’s frame by frame with what we don’t have. Like, we’re getting it. We’ve only had one shot, and it’s really far away.”
“I thought it was possession. I don’t know,” Jaffe said.
“I thought it was possession, too. I agree,” Raycroft added.
Boston’s decision to not challenge for offside was likely rooted in the same rationale used for Cale Makar’s controversial goal against the Oilers in the 2022 Western Conference Finals, with the Avalanche defenseman crossing the blue line before teammate Valeri Nichushkin tagged up.
The Oilers challenged for offside on the play, but the play was upheld following a lengthy review — with Makar never touching the puck in the offensive zone until Nichushkin came out over the blue line.
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While it looked as though Liljegren was stick-handling the puck during his entry, the Bruins clearly felt as though a video review would deem that the Sharks defenseman technically didn’t have possession when crossing over the blue line.
The Bruins take on the L.A. Kinds Sunday night at 9 p.m.
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