On hot mic, Ref Kelly Sutherland tells Capitals ‘I owe you one’ after blowing whistle early and negating Dylan Strome goal
The Washington Capitals were robbed of a goal 21 seconds into their 4-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Friday. And official Kelly Sutherland appeared to regret his part in the mix-up.
The play started after Trevor van Riemsdyk sent a pass to Anthony Beauvillier, camped out in the right circle. Beauvillier’s initial backhanded shot was stopped by goaltender Joseph Woll, but the Caps forward found the rebound. He then sent a shot on his forehand that trickled through Woll’s five-hole and stopped on the goal line uncovered.
As Sutherland lost sight of the puck, he whistled the play dead. Strome then backhanded the biscuit home, lighting the lamp. Sutherland immediately waved the goal off because he had blown the play dead a second earlier.
Officials eventually reviewed the play with the Situation Room in Toronto. And after a short discussion, the play was confirmed to be “no goal” because there was no continuation, since the initial shot stopped on the goal line, and, per the NHL, “The Referee informed the Situation Room he blew his whistle to stop play before the puck entered the Toronto net.”
While the whistle came at the wrong time, the call was ultimately correct, but it did affect the game. The Leafs ultimately jumped out to a 2-0 lead after getting goals from Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies — a game the Capitals were dominating analytics wise.
Sutherland appeared to regret the early whistle and discussed the blown call with TVR as the Capitals looked to break out of their own zone with 12:06 remaining in the first period.
“You robbed me of an assist there, Kelly,” TVR appears to tell Sutherland.
“I know I did, I owe you one somewhere,” Sutherland, if I heard correctly, responds.
The Capitals seemed to reference the moment postgame with this tweet.
After the comments, the Capitals ended up getting two consecutive power plays at the start of the second period with Morgan Rielly — the Leafs’ first goal-scorer of the night — going to the box 41 seconds in for slashing Dylan Strome. Auston Matthews then got a hooking call on Ryan Leonard 4:31 into the period. The Leafs got no power plays on the evening.
Referees evening up calls between two teams they are officiating is a well-known, unwritten rule in the NHL. However, it’s seriously frowned upon when discussed openly. For example, former referee Tim Peel was fired by the league in 2021 after he was caught on a hot mic saying he wanted to call an early second-period penalty on the Nashville Predators.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell said then. “Tim Peel’s conduct is in direct contradiction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand of our officials and that our fans, players, coaches, and all those associated with our game expect and deserve.”
Peel was due to retire after the season and had been an on-ice official since October 1999.
Bears RB D’Andre Swift Sends Message After Beating Eagles in Philly
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Bears running back D'Andre Swift.
Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift played it cool when asked earlier in the week about the opportunity to play his former Philadelphia Eagles team in his hometown in prime time, telling NFL Network it was just another game.
He had not met the Eagles since he left to sign with the Bears in 2024 free agency after running for a career-high 1,049 yards and five touchdowns as their lead back in 2023. That same offseason, the Eagles invested a $37.75 million contract into Saquon Barkley.
After the Bears’ dominant 24-15 win, though, Swift admitted there was a little more to his rematch with the Eagles than he had admitted heading into Week 13’s matchup.
“There was a little bit extra into it, being home and seeing family before the game,” Swift said after a laugh, via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. “Full-circle moment.”
I spoke to #Bears RB D’Andre Swift the other day about coming home and facing his former team. He played it off as just another game.
Now? “There was a little bit extra to it.”
Our postgame interview for @NFLGameDay 👇
D’Andre Swift & Kyle Monangai Rolled Eagles Defense
Swift — who signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Bears in 2024 — dominated against his former team on Black Friday, rushing 18 times for a season-high 125 yards and a first-quarter touchdown that helped the Bears take a lead they would never lose.
He wasn’t the only one, either.
Bears seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai also throttled the Eagles defense on the ground, putting up a team-high 130 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Monangai has now rushed for at least 130 yards in two of his first 12 career games in Chicago.
Together, Swift and Monangai became the first Bears duo to each rush for 100-plus yards in a game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey did so during the 1985 season, which is as much a testament to the backs as it is to Chicago’s stout offensive line.
“We want to be playing our best ball in November and December when it matters the most,” Swift told Garafolo in the postgame. “We’re in a position to do so. Got to keep getting better, week in and week out.”
Can Bears RBs Repeat Dominance Against Packers?
Having now knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions, the Bears are starting to build some real expectations about where they can still take their 9-3 season in 2025.
The reasons for optimism are aplenty. It is not just that Ben Johnson’s coaching staff has done a better job at commanding the troops to victory in one-score games (6-1) or that former No. 1 pick Caleb Williams has improved under Johnson’s tutelage. It is the seismic culture shift that has turned the Bears from routine losers to confident winners.
Now, can they keep it going at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers in Week 14, specifically on the ground with their backs against the eighth-ranked run defense?
The Packers (8-3-1) can take first place in the division away from the Bears with a win at home next week and are coming off a win in which they held Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs to just 68 yards on 20 carries. That said, they also just lost defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt to a season-ending ankle injury that could create issues for their run defense.
The Bears will face the Packers at a flexed 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff on December 7.
