Ethan

There's been a lot of talk.

I know some agents have been out there, maybe critical of not protecting players as much as they feel they should.

Maybe the suspension lengths aren't enough or the penalties aren't severe enough to cause players to pause a little bit before perhaps a play like what we just watched with Radko Gudis and Austin Matthews.

But I wanted to get your take from the officiating standpoint of do you think that criticism is

is fair, or do you think that the Department of Player Safety is doing a pretty good job right now?

You bring up a good point, though, because as you were saying that, I'm thinking back to some of the hits, just from a Panthers perspective, because that's the team that we cover down here.

There have been some pretty big substantial hits in recent postseasons, whether it's been Sam Bennett or whoever's been involved.

But again, it feels like there's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, especially if it's a big star player that's on the receiving end of one of those hits.

But again, just kind of thinking as you were saying it, it does kind of feel like they've done a fair job, that there's been maybe more of a, oh my God, when it's something big happens or at a big point of the season or the playoffs.

I can't remember.

Can't remember that being the case.

So that brings up something that I guess from a referee's perspective, you could have an interesting opinion on this.

But I feel like, and Roy, I think we've talked about this before, but especially lately, the instances of players driving an opposing player into their own goaltender have been going up and up and up.

And that play right there is just another one where you saw Darnell Nurse.

He's not giving McKinnon much of a chance to get out of the crease, to get out of his goaltender's way.

And...

I guess I'm just complaining about it now.

Well, now it makes me wonder, though, Dave, because we're seeing these goaltender interference challenges where a goalie's glove gets hit by a stick or his pad gets nicked by a skate, but it's somebody on his own team that's kind of forcing that player at least to be in the vicinity.

And so I'm now wondering if maybe it'll cause players to take pause or protect their goalie a little bit more or protect the crease a little bit more for danger of that maybe happening.

See, I feel almost enlightened right now because the whole breaking the plane, extending off the ice, like that's something to take into account that I really hadn't been because I thought the goalie was able to establish his area and protect it.