As the NHL regular season is done, now the picture is set for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. With 16 teams standing to fight for it, fans will soon find out who lifts Lord Stanley’s Cup in June. Yesterday, with the Stanley Cup Playoffs in full swing, the ice was buzzing with intensity, and bam!—a linesman goes down. It’s not just the players feeling the heat this postseason; NHL officials are taking hits, too, and it’s raising eyebrows across the league. Just a few games into the 2025 playoffs, three linemen have already been sidelined, leaving fans and analysts wondering. Are the stripes cursed this year?

The first incident occurred during Game 1 between the Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights. Linesman Bryan Pancich was caught in a brutal collision with Vegas forward Brett Howden just 3:37 into the second period. Howden, trying to glove down the puck near the blue line, skated toward the boards and accidentally slammed into Pancich. The official crashed hard into the glass and crumpled to the ice. Then, as if the hockey gods hadn’t had enough, another linesman went down the very next day.

In Game 2 between the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets, veteran linesman Andrew Smith was forced to exit for a medical evaluation. Details on his injury or illness remain scarce, leaving fans in the dark about his status. And with the third linesman down with an injury in the past few days, the official X handle of Spittin’ Chiclets, tweeted this, “Stripes are dropping like flies! That’s the THIRD liney down these playoffs 😳.” This time, Scott Cherry got injured when he got hit by a puck as Kucherov was looking one way during the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning match yesterday. The puck hit him on the back and made him the third referee to be injured during the playoffs.

In the first two rounds of non-elimination playoff games, only one standby official is assigned per game, which worked in these cases but highlights the thin margin for error. For elimination games and later rounds, the NHL ups the ante with one referee and one linesman on standby, but we’re not there yet.

Pancich’s and Smith’s absences sting, especially given their experience. Smith, in his eighth NHL season, has worked 553 regular-season games and 38 playoff matches. Pancich, no stranger to high-stakes games, was also a significant loss. With officiating crews rotating through series in the postseason, the NHL may need to lean on its depth to keep games running smoothly. But with the physicality of playoff hockey showing no mercy—even to the zebras—fans can only hope the injury bug doesn’t claim more stripes before the Cup is hoisted.

Apple partners with NHL officials to help keep focus on the game as Stanley Cup Playoffs approach

The National Hockey League (NHL) has partnered with Apple and technology services provider Presidio to introduce a custom Apple Watch app designed to assist on-ice officials during games, especially when playoffs are taking place this month. The NHL Watch Comms App, developed by Presidio, a New York-based software provider, simplifies the demanding role of referees and linesmen by delivering real-time situational communications. With a 92.5% adoption rate among officials this season, the app has become a vital tool in professional hockey, even expanding to outdoor games, such as a recent match at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

The app addresses a key challenge for officials: the need to monitor multiple elements simultaneously. Referees must track the game clock while keeping their eyes on fast-paced gameplay, and linesmen need to watch penalty clocks to ensure players don’t exit the penalty box prematurely. The NHL Watch Comms App syncs with arena game and penalty clocks, using the Apple Watch’s haptic notifications to alert officials as critical moments, like the end of a period or penalty, approach. “When the NHL talked to us, they were looking for a way to help officials in those cases where their eyes need to be in two places at once,” said Gail Backal, practice lead for digital strategy at Presidio. These vibrations allow officials to stay focused on the action without glancing at clocks, while also helping them avoid collisions when players rush out of the penalty box.

Developing the app required overcoming significant technical hurdles. One major challenge was ensuring the Apple Watches remained in perfect sync with arena scoreboards, eliminating any noticeable lag. Presidio’s development team optimized the app’s code to achieve the precise polling cadence needed for real-time alignment with the clocks. This process not only delivered a reliable tool for the NHL but also provided Presidio with valuable programming expertise for future projects. Connectivity was another critical consideration. After evaluating Wi-Fi and cellular networks in arenas, Presidio chose cellular for its superior reliability and coverage, particularly over the ice, where network priority typically favors spectator areas.

The NHL Watch Comms App represents a niche within the smartwatch app market, with only a handful of similar tools available for game officials in Apple’s App Store. Tested in previous seasons, the app’s iterative design process has refined its functionality, making it an essential asset for officials. By leveraging Apple’s technology, the NHL and Presidio have created a solution that enhances focus, improves accuracy, and supports the seamless execution of professional hockey games.