Focus. It’s all about focus.
Linesmen have to keep their focus on the puck, tracking its position as it crosses lines while dealing with obstructions, maintaining positioning, and tracking the players on the ice. They even have to do it when they’re no longer on their feet.
Linesman Steve Barton was laser-focused on Thursday night when he made an icing call after falling to the ice.
Credit Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk for checking on the official and lending a hand to get him up.
Barton, 48, has worked over 1,240 regular season NHL games and 88 playoff games since joining the National Hockey League in 2000. Over that time, he’s called countless icings — most of those, though, were while on his skates.
