A high stick by Nicolas Aube-Kubel broke Red Wings forward Andrew Copp’s cheek bone late in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Washington. Officials chose not to review the play, causing controversy.
A high stick by Nicolas Aube-Kubel broke Red Wings forward Andrew Copp’s cheek bone late in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Washington. Officials chose not to review the play, causing controversy.
Late in Tuesday's game between the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals, Andrew Copp laid on the ice in clear pain, clutching his face. A high stick from Nicolas Aube-Kubel had caught him across the cheek, and Copp hunched over on the ice feeling the effects. Within seconds, officials stopped play so trainers could attend to the Red Wings forward, and they huddled to discuss the incident.
But no penalty came.
Fans booed. Detroit captain Dylan Larkin protested the non-call to no avail. In crunch time, the non-call was a missed opportunity for the Red Wings to potentially draw closer in a game they trailed 2-0 — a bad break of a high order.
"Doc just told me he broke his cheek bone,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde. “My understanding was if it's an injury, they can take a look at it. … They said they didn't see it. What can you do?"
Lalonde’s understanding appears to be correct, as analyst Prashanth Iyer laid out on X (formerly Twitter). In stopping a game for an injury, officials have the "option (but not the obligation) to review video of the play for the purpose of confirming (or not) their original call on the ice, and, in particular, whether the stick causing the apparent injury was actually the stick of the Player being penalized."
Officials stopping the play gave them the right to review the play, but they chose not to check their work in a game with pivotal playoff stakes. Whether they thought the stick originated from a Red Wings teammate, or whether they thought there shouldn't be a penalty because Copp was not bleeding, the officials made a decision to not review the call at all.
"They never took a look at it," Lalonde said. "They just said they didn't see it. And there's no blood. Again, my understanding is if injuries caused for the whistle, you can take a look at it. Obviously blatant high stick. If it hits him in the visor you can probably move on from it, but the fact he broke his cheekbone, that one stings a little bit."
Surprisingly, the referees who called the game —Dan O’Rourke and Wes McCauley — are two of the most experienced in the league. Both have more than 1300 games officiated dating back to 1999 and 2003, respectively.
Why exactly they chose not to review the call at all is unknown, but the miss came at a crucial moment for the Red Wings. With 5:41 left in the third period and trailing the Capitals 2-0, Detroit desperately needed a bounce to go its way. With significant points in the wild card playoff race hanging in the balance, the Red Wings found no help and lost despite an eventual last-second goal by Patrick Kane.
Copp's potential absence due to the injury could have a lasting effect. The Ann Arbor-born forward has 13 goals and 33 points in 77 games this season. He is a meaningful piece of the lineup for Detroit, a member of its impact third line that defends and forechecks well while also playing on the penalty kill.
If Copp's injury keeps him out of the lineup, that could sting even longer than the missed call might hurt in the moment. To make the playoffs, the Red Wings need to string together wins in their final four games of the season, including a pivotal game in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Mathematically, they've still got a chance at making their first postseason since 2016.
Missed calls like Tuesday's don't make that road any easier.
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