Complaining about non-calls

Well conspiracy theory aside, Bettman isn’t the one looking over the issues on the ice. He is singly minded about the ‘product’ and distribution of said product in the Southern Half of North America. Yes, he is the stereotypical American with the “Manifest Destiny” or American Dream for the Canadian Game. Whatever you would like to call it.

I agree, complaining about the officiating is pointless, but, it is a productive release for us crazy fans. We are aware that during or after the fact our say has NO Pull whatsoever, however, that being said we like to think that our cries for fairness would be somehow heard by the Officiating Gods.

You are correct in your assertion that there is a difference between regular season and playoff officiating. As much as it had been talked about in the past “Refs let the players play” during the playoffs – insinuating that there was a lot of leeway in how a player conducts himself on the ice during the playoffs. I don’t see that being true today. I look at the penalties that were called, or not, in the 80’s and 90’s and compare them to today…again this is done by my mere mortal memory, not by statistical data that mathman or other like individuals would have provided. However, when you do watch a game from start to finish, and are aware of the differences between the calls made for your team and those for the opposition, and it is sooooo apparent (even to the tv commenators) that several (8 or 9) calls were not whistled, it gives the fans fodder to again state that fairness is not being acheived in this game.

I for one have tried to watch as many games this playoffs (much like I did as a teen) to get a sense of the overall officiating of the playoffs, and have come to agree that it is no different in the West than it is in the East, teams are getting away with murder. I am all for ‘Let the players play" but, then let them play. There’s been almost double the amount of bench minors (Too many men) in this whole playoffs as there was THE WHOLE SEASON (And we are only in the second round!!!!). And I don’t know how Refs justify giving a player 2 penalties in one game in round one for slahing a stick (Cammalleri) and we can watch Crosby hack players and posts alike without the Refs batting an eyelash.

But.. I guess the product is more important than the playing field, or sense of fairness. Which is a total switch from what little boys and girls learn as pee wee hockey players… there are rules ALL players abide by, and ALL players will be treated similarly when there is an infraction……. Not so in the NHL…. *ahem Hossa no suspension – had never hit anyone like that before – Ovie on Campbell – reckless player needs to be stopped? Why the drawing of lines in the sand? *

But.. I guess the product is more important than the playing field, or sense of fairness. Which is a total switch from what little boys and girls learn as pee wee hockey players… there are rules ALL players abide by, and ALL players will be treated similarly when there is an infraction……. Not so in the NHL…. *ahem Hossa no suspension – had never hit anyone like that before – Ovie on Campbell – reckless player needs to be stopped? Why the drawing of lines in the sand? *But, thanks for your perspective Snoop… its fresh to see through new eyes. Thanks.

As an english Hockey fan who is relatively new to the sport, I’m well versed in Referees making bad calls and deciding the outcomes of soccer games all on their own, with no space for video reviews and just one (usually out of shape) man on the pitch, with no professional experience playing the game. It’s a national past-time in the UK to bitch about the officiating in sport, something which is unlikely to change due to the powers-that-be deciding that tradition is more important than the level-playing field that referees are failing to provide without the inclusion of technology.

However, since becoming an avid fan of the NHL in recent years, I have been amazed at how efficiently officials on the ice call such a fast paced and frantic game. In the EPL, its not uncommon for 20,000 people in the crowd to rise up and notice blatant misconduct or penalties occurring, only for the referee simply to look on with a dumb look on his face, shrugging his shoulders. For the most part I think officiating in the NHL is fabulous, and applaud it for never being afraid to take a few minutes to review the call and make sure its correct. Very rarely does it become the primary focus of analysis after the game is said and done.

Last night however was different. At times it felt like I was watching my football team back in the UK, having referees seemingly eager to level the game and having a very visible influence on the unfolding of the action. I accept that from time to time officials will miss calls or tighten/relax the rules to a certain degree. Thats life and thats sports. Its always been that way and the old excuse in England holds pretty true, over time bad calls tend to even themselves out and teams have their share of the lucky ones, even if its hard to stomach at the time where refs appear to be playing for the other team!

No one could claim that the treatment of the Habs last night was fair. The lack of whistles on blatant fouls was pretty obvious for all to see, Habs fan or not (even Cherry!). But if this playoffs has shown us anything, we play the best when our backs are up against the wall. The us vs the world mentality has gotten Halak and the boys this far, and lets hope it continues to pay off.

I generally can’t stand it when people complain about calls. Caps fans were pretty upset with the goal being taken back in the 3rd period against Montreal, but the way I look at it, it is the team’s responsibility to make sure a questionable call doesn’t cost you the series. Could the crease violation have gone either way? Sure. Was it the wrong call? Maybe. Can you actually expect an official to be able to make that call perfectly every time, in real time, without the benefit of video review? No. The majority of calls made by NHL officials are made in real time, at full speed, with 12 enormous men with huge padding obstructing their view of every call. Missed calls are going to happen, bad calls are going to happen, you need to position yourself to win despite them, and Montreal did that against my Caps.

…and God willing they’ll do it against the Pens too.