b.shanafan14

The games have been close with poor goaltending and poor officiating tipping the balance in each one, making the series on the verge of a sweep. Really any number of things could have happened to make this series completely different. But as close as the series has been, the Wings haven't cashed in on opportunities to win despite the poor officiating and now have zero margin of error, which isn't going to be possible for his team as it is now. I'm hoping/expecting the Wings to win tonight, and maybe even the next one, but they blew three 50/50 games so far and you can't do that against a team with the talent of the Sharks and hope to come back from three games down in a series. It hasn't been done in 44 years for a reason, if a team is good enough to beat you 3 of 3, they are good enough to beat you 1 of 4.

I say why not, this team is going to need some fresh enthusiasm at this point. That and ANYTHING is better than Williams.

As bad as the refs have been, I voted Howard for much the same reason as everyone else who did so. For me, its bad enough to give up 4 goals per game in the playoffs (you're not going to win many games that way) but the way he let in those goals was the real killer for this team. Goals after Red Wings goals, soft goals through the five-hole or being out of position, multiple quick goals against, goals off of poor rebound control, goals at the end of the period. I knew this team was in trouble when after the Cleary goal everyone seemed to KNOW they were going to give up a goal in the less than 90 seconds left in the period and sure enough 2 seconds left and Howard lets in a softy five-hole. It was all down hill from there. Howard limped through the first series spare a game or two and he has done nothing to help the Wings this series. He is a rookie and its understandable he is getting his first playoff disappointment under his belt hopefully leading to future success with a healthier, more rested team. That doesn't change the fact that with slightly better than mediocre goaltending (and competent officiating) the Wings could be one game down or even up in this series. They haven't gotten that, so they are on the verge of a sweep.

Williams is gone for sure. But if we were going to bring Bertuzzi=Ugly Lang back in the first place and watch Babcock kiss the guy's ass all season, I can almost guarantee he'll be back. Its sad but true. I know he put up points above his pay-grade, but if anyone watched the guy night in, night out, he was lazy s***. He floats, watches the smaller players dig, gets bumped off the puck easily, spends half the game with one hand on his stick and takes stupid penalties. At least Lang didn't do the last two.

I knew coming into it the Wings just didn't have it this year. They are out of gas and it shows. It would be a lot easier pill to swallow if Howard wasn't mediocre at best and the Sharks weren't getting near 3 times the Power Plays. The refs have ruined hockey already this spring, that is probably the biggest disappointment, the second biggest being Howard .

The Sharks haven't been taking liberties with the Wings' players at all. The biggest problem is that the Sharks dive and get the call. Now imagine if Brad May is out there. These aren't the Ducks. The Sharks are more than manageable in the physical aspects of the game despite their size. As soon as the refs start calling dives against the Sharks instead of phantom calls against the Wings this series will even out nicely. The Wings were close in both games despite as horrible officiating as I've ever seen and there is definitely room in the throttle. Brad May wouldn't be an addition and Mursak doesn't seem to be an option Babcock would consider. Williams is absolute s*** and we could really use Eaves' energy out there.

I love Lilja's blog. Seems like such a nice guy and I couldn't be happier for him being able to play again.

I'd continue to watch, but with much diminished interest and enthusiasm and definitely on HockeyStreams so I don't factor into the NHL's ratings.

If its the one I'm thinking of I was initially pissed because the Wings had got called on the goalie interference calls that were weak as hell. But I think the replay showed it was Filppula's stick.

I think Mule would play better with Hank and Filppula, that line needs a boost. I don't approve of Bertuzzi's play at all tho, so its hard to have any equation with him in the top 6 over Cleary at this point. Ideally, Babcock would try: Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Cleary Franzen-Zetterberg-Filppula OR Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Franzen-Filppula-Cleary Just tired of watching Bertuzzi float and do a fly-by instead of using his size and constantly playing with only one hand on the stick, leading to lazy play with the puck and taking penalties without the puck (granted both of the penalties last night were a joke).

The team that plays better should win, period. The refs aren't paid millions of dollars to entertain and compete for the fans, the players are. Let them play. This is true of any sport but amplified in hockey because of the intensity of playoff games and the punishment for infractions. The refs should mediate, that is it!

We'd be lucky if they were consistent from one period to the next, forget about one game to another, one series to another, or regular season to playoffs. I always hope they just let them play and let the players decide the game on the ice, and I'm always disappointed.

Hockey stopped in April, its soccer season now.

This officiating has been a joke. Worst I've seen in a long time, which is saying something in this joke of a league. Its one thing when the Wings deserve it and its called both ways. The former happened plenty tonite on both sides, but the latter is the problem. The Sharks were allowed to play all night, the Wings were not. The refs have again factored into a playoff game. f***. THIS. LEAGUE.

Oh... my.... god.... NO!

The more and more I look at that, the more obvious the high stick and dive are and the refs got it completely wrong. Setoguchi basically got his stick jambed on Franzen's face and then toppled backwards. Pathetic. I do agree with Carman, the Wings lost because of 80 seconds of the worst hockey they've played all season. But all these bulls*** calls don't make it an easier pill to swallow. Someone really should get the 9.6, 10.0, 9.2 score cards out for the rest of the series for Divin' Setoguchi. Its made so much worse by the fact that he dove twice to give them a 5-on-3 and the eventual game winner instead of the Wings getting a 4 minute PP with a chance to tie. Note: I'm not saying Filppula didn't deserve a high sticking penalty, but he embellished the s*** out of it. I wonder if Filppula would have flopped the second he hit Setoguchi if he would have gotten the call?

Same here. It happened right as the Wings were headed up that side of ice and all of a sudden it looked like someone tumbled towards the puck. I definitely had a "WTF was that!? Too many men?!" moment too.

Yeah, he was diving all over the place and thumbs up for NHL officials letting it actually work. Franzen gets 2 minutes for needing stitches instead of Setoguchi's 4 minutes for high sticking and almost as a scripted piece of hilarious villainy, just seconds later he gets brushed with a Filppula high stick that was apparently fired out of a cannon, because Setoguchi yet again sprawls on the ice and gets the call to put his team on the 5-on-3 for the eventual game winner. Yeah.... I'm not pissed at all either... This x 100

Reagh is a moron, but he is Dallas's moron. Versus is just horrendous with picking announcers most of the time. Their policy is NBC's policy is NHL's policy: back the hot team and never question the refs.

The refs were piss poor, soft calls all around the whole game, really disgusting to watch. But this game was lost in 1:20 in the first. That was absolutely pathetic. Sharks had nothing but the countless powerplays for the rest of the game. I'm seething over this one, 3 goals in 80 seconds?? Honestly...

This officiating is a ******* joke. Period.

Great move, tho its going to be awkward for a while saying Lindsay instead of Pearson

Happy Birthday Niklas!

Agree with the OP. The most frustrating part is watching a game even out on the PP just for the sake of perceived parity. If one team deserves more penalties, they should get them. This is how the Ducks have played for years, basically they can only get penalized so much, keep toeing the line and everything will eventually be let go. A penalty in the first period should be a penalty in the third period, and vise versa. The inconsistency is the most irritating part of NHL officiating, i.e. the Hal Gill rule in which holding up a player like a pass protecting NFL lineman is interference UNLESS Hal Gill does it. Its silly to think about, but refs are all too aware of the penalty count and even more aware of a players tendencies leading to some excusing penalties because a player like Gill has ridiculous size or calling others because no matter what their eyes tell their brain, their brain says Holmstrom stabbed the goaltender. Ideally, they wouldn't have human referees, they would have indiscriminate robot penalty measurement devices which call a spade a spade everytime, and at the very least the human refs could do a much better job of taking on that mindset. Until that happens, the NHL officiating will continue to be a joke, rules will be enforced and not enforced and rescinded in a whimsical fashion, diluting the feeling that Team X won because Team X deserved to win.

I can't stand him in the sense that "damn, he is killing us out there, wish he was on our team". I would love to have a player like Doan on the Wings. A player like that could almost single-handedly energize his entire team with his physical play, attitude, and clutch scoring ability.