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Sunday, April 16, 2000 By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Paul Stewart, one of the NHL's most tenured referees, has a reputation for enjoying the spotlight. Whether fans are booing him or cheering for him, he never shies away from a controversial call, even one that might decide the game.
The Capitals believe he made two yesterday. And that he cost them a 2-1 overtime loss to the Penguins in Game 2 of this first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
"I can't say too much for the officiating," goaltender Olaf Kolzig said. "There were some pretty questionable calls."
The first came 8:51 into the second period, with the Capitals ahead, 1-0.
After a scramble near Penguins goaltender Ron Tugnutt, the puck popped loose in the low slot. Washington center Jeff Halpern pounced on it and lifted it into the net. But Stewart, positioned behind the goal line, had blown the whistle before the shot, explaining that he lost sight of the puck and believed Tugnutt had it covered.
"It clearly wasn't covered," Halpern said. "The trouble was, he wasn't in position to see it. There's three other guys out there, and they all knew it was loose."
Six minutes later, Penguins center Jan Hrdina tied the score, 1-1, which is how it remained until overtime. That's when Stewart leaped into the fray again.
Five minutes into the extra session, Penguins left winger Martin Straka dumped the puck from the neutral zone into the right corner of Washington's end. Right winger Alexei Kovalev bolted across the blue line to give chase, but Capitals defenseman Ken Klee put his right glove and tugged at Kovalev's shoulder, sending Kovalev to the ice.
Stewart's right arm went up, and the Capitals' jaws dropped. Few penalties of any kind are called in playoff overtimes, but one which doesn't involve a scoring chance is especially rare.
Washington's bench was furious, and that anger multiplied tenfold when Jaromir Jagr won the game 41 seconds into the ensuing power play.
"It was a marginal call, but I cost my team by taking it," Klee said. "Kovalev was on my back. I just kind of reached back a little bit, and the next thing I knew, he was down. They made the call. It's unbelievable."
Asked if Kovalev helped Stewart make up his mind by taking a dive, Klee replied, "For sure. That's their game, to embellish things. But they made the call, and I have to pay the penalty."
Capitals Coach Ron Wilson was critical of Kovalev, too.
"I thought it was an awful call, but what can you do? Kovalev comes from behind and bumps into Klee. Kenny reaches out, and Kovy's already going down. He weights 220, and he goes down."
Kovalev laughed that off.
"I don't care what he says," he said of Wilson. "He's been crying the whole time we've been playing them. They've been diving all year and through the whole series. I never took a dive. I was going for the puck, and their guy grabbed my shirt and knocked me off balance."
Ron Ego, an NHL supervisor of officials, met with Wilson and Washington's coaching staff after the game, but that did little to cool off Wilson. The Penguins had nine power plays to the Capitals' five.
"I thought we played a great game," Wilson said. "I can't control what is a penalty and what isn't one, or why one team's allowed to do something and the other team pays the price. The call at the end is that Kovalev is going to be the first man to the puck, but Kolzig is out there in corner ready to play it."
During the celebration of Jagr's goal, Stewart stood near the penalty box as the Capitals steamed off the ice. Referees aren't required to explain a decisions to players or coaches, but they often do so as a courtesy, particularly when it's a controversial one. Wilson said he never heard from Stewart. Klee concurred.
"He doesn't explain anything to anybody," Klee said. "He's too good for us. He's better than the players."
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