Just One More Comment About Officiating...

[deker 0]

Interesting to find a neutral observer wondering the same things we all have been.

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=573430

[Probert 5 For Fighting 0]

Great. More ammunition for the whiners who still want to bash the officiating after we've won the Cup.

It's always going to suck, fellas. It sucks when you lose, it sucks when you win. I'm just glad we have a guy like Babcock who tells everybody to STFU, play through it, and wait for the calls to go their way.

[Hank 0]

I was more upset about how a lot of the stick fouls weren't called for either team.

Since the lockout, this was the first Finals where the officiating looked more of the dead-puck variety.

I'm really hoping that this standard doesn't carry into next season. Soon enough, we'll be back to clutching and grabbing, where the games top stars go from scoring 110 points to 90.

The NHL needs to stay vigilant and call games the same from preseason matchups to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

[ThreeRiversFan 0]

Was Datsyuk hooked?...absolutely

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

The thought that any ref..in that frenzy...would have the time or inclination to take into account favoritism to any team is absurd.

The Wings won because they were better...many calls made and not made on both sides....

enough already

[MN_REDWINGS_FAN 4]

Great. More ammunition for the whiners who still want to bash the officiating after we've won the Cup.

It's always going to suck, fellas. It sucks when you lose, it sucks when you win. I'm just glad we have a guy like Babcock who tells everybody to STFU, play through it, and wait for the calls to go their way.

I wonder if you would be saying the same if we lost the series due to the officiating.

[McCartyFanForLife 17]

I wonder if you would be saying the same if we lost the series due to the officiating.

I'm pretty sure nobody has ever lost a series due to officiating. Sometimes the calls go your way, sometimes they don't. In a 7 game series, the better team always prevails. Sure I though the officiating was questionable, but their human beings just like the players. We don't have a committee of referees that review each penalty call to determine if the call was correct or not. The ref makes a split second decision based on his point of view. Of course replay shows what the correct call may or may not have been, but it won't show the refs point of view or what he was looking at.

"We lost because of bad calls" = "We are too proud to admit that we got beat by a better team and we need to practice harder"

[Nort 0]

Was Datsyuk hooked?...absolutely

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

The thought that any ref..in that frenzy...would have the time or inclination to take into account favoritism to any team is absurd.

The Wings won because they were better...many calls made and not made on both sides....

enough already

Well that's pretty sad then. No ref on the planet is going to call a CLEAR penalty just because 20 second are left? Maybe the reffing culture needs to be overhauled if that's the case.

[daniel1 32]

I'm from Canada; I've played/watched/coached LOTS of hockey in my 35+ years on the planet. I've seen good/bad/fair/biased officiating at all levels but never until THIS year and THESE Stanley Cup finals have I ever thought the Refs in the NHL were "cheering" for one team over the other. Even if I wasn't a Wings fan, even if I had not reffed countless games of minor hockey myself; I still would have been able to see the bias. It was, I think, a combination of three things which allowed the Refs in the finals to become biased against the Wings:

1. The first two games in Detroit where the Wings dominated so completely that the Refs figured they had to do something to prevent the series from being one of the worst and shortest ever. Even I wondered if the Pens would score a goal in the finals at all after the first two games.

2. Michel Therien's whining. I have never seen a coach blatantly whine and pout the way he did at the post pressers. He was like a whiny 10yr old that was told he couldn't have any ice cream. My favorite was; "they give us a penalty and took away our power play", like somehow it was the Penguins god-given right to have one regardless of what was happening on the ice. Therien is an *******. Why he didn't get fined is beyond me.

3. The NHL's desire for improved television ratings. I'm sure the NHL would have LOVED a game seven what with the improved ratings in the 4th and 5th game. I'm also equally sure that the Refs had some pressure put on them by someone from the NHL to "make the calls that would lead to a game seven".

[Nero 20]

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

Why do we even have penalties if they aren't going to be called in the final 20 seconds of the game? Does not calling that trip/hook/whatever on Datsyuk with 20 seconds left in the game make you a better referee?

Datsyuk was penalized upon. That non-call allowed Pittsburgh to continue with their own play and almost score a goal. If Pittsburgh's last attempt went in, then you could bet your ass that the referees tied the game for them.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Nero

[Gizmo 21]

Was Datsyuk hooked?...absolutely

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

If the refs had also likewise swallowed their whistles on the "hooking" call on Hudler with 1:47 left in the game, then I'd feel better about the "They were just letting them play" defense of the refs.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Gizmo

[58Miles2Joe 12]

great article.

Bettman and his money-grubbing cronies are proving, once again, that they value money over integrity. Big news.

I just hope it doesn't turn into big-time wrestling (more so).

[DYags 0]

"...but as he readied a shot toward the open net, he was hauled down with an abundantly obvious stick foul so blatant that Helen Keller would have been forced to raise her arm."

[drwscc 212]

What about the fact that Lilja's stick was slashed out of his hand, and knocked away right before Pitts' last goal. How do you not call something blatant like that?

I'm not all about the conspiracy, and don't really care now since the Wings won, but still, you have to look at the whole picture, and all the missed calls.

[Probert 5 For Fighting 0]

I wonder if you would be saying the same if we lost the series due to the officiating.

I would. Why? Because I'm over the age of 12 and realize the game is being played by the players, and not the officials.

[Echolalia 2,961]

There were definitely some questionable calls and noncalls, but I think that for 80% of the time, the calls/noncalls went both ways. That last game reminded me a lot of 90's type hockey with all the obstruction, hooking, and interference that was going on, but there weren't 20 penalties addressed just to one team for that duration. It was generally even.

Overall I'm not any more pissed about the officiating than I normally am; in fact, I'm less pissed, because with all the penalties they could've called (both ways, I should add), the game wouldn't have been nearly as fast or as exciting as it was.

But if there was something shady going on ala Bettman and his cronies, then all the media attention that is coming of it should hopefully have him at least think twice about doing this in the future.

[Graybeard 0]

I would. Why? Because I'm over the age of 12 and realize the game is being played by the players, and not the officials.

In a perfect world, yes. In this case, not a chance. It's true the refs SHOULD be a non-factor, but almost noone in the hockey world believes that of the finals this year. Biased or just plain bad, there is no denying the refs were a major factor in the series and were very close to being an even bigger one.

If not for a spectacular play by Osgood the Pens tie it up and possibly win in overtime and get a chance at taking the series in game seven. All this because the refs handed them a six on four and then refused to take it away by not calling three blatant penalties. The Datsyuk trip, the stick slashed of of Lilja's hands, and his stick getting swept away once it is loose. All those calls are automatic if the officiating is even halfassed. So it's ok to make calls with 90 seconds left in the game if they're in the Pens favor, but not with 20 seconds in the game if it goes against them? Wtf kind of standard is that? Games have been won and lost with less than 5 seconds on the clock so their is absolutely no good time to let obvious penalties go uncalled because of time left in the game.

You can look back at this and say so what the Wings won anyway. I'm fine with that if that's your opinion. But to say that the officiating was fine and dandy just because the matchup was lopsided enough for the Wings to overcome the officiating is crazy in my book. Bad is bad, and the officiating, for whatever reason, was the worst that I and a great number of other long time hockey fans have ever seen throughout a series.

Now that so many commentators, writers, and others around hockey have come out and said they believe the officiating stunk, it's no longer valid to say that the complaints are just coming from a bunch of Red Wing homers.

[ThreeRiversFan 0]

I would. Why? Because I'm over the age of 12 and realize the game is being played by the players, and not the officials.

Kudos

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

Was Datsyuk hooked?...absolutely

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

And therein lies the problem with the NHL and its officiating. The rules don't apply when a game is tight, and meaningful. The league is only hurting itself.

[CanadianSwede19 0]

Q: Did thoughts of Game 5 creep into your mind late in Game 6?

Cleary: Honestly, we go up 3-1 and I remember after the (Jiri) Hudler penalty thinking of how the referees can certainly dictate the outcome of a game. We all said, ‘This is not going to happen.’ And we went out there and I’m just trying to get out in front of (Sergei) Gonchar’s shot any way I can — I might have broke my wrist, I think — but he got the second one past on a deflection and it goes 3-2. It was so close and then all I do is turn around and see (goalie Chris) Osgood with his hands in the air and then it’s over and all the rest doesn’t matter.

Free Press article

Seems like a certain Newfoundlander would agree

[dicksmack 33]

Good for Tony to have the guts to speak his mind on a controversial topic, and apparently, all of the people he bounced this off of prior to it's appearance in the newspaper agreed. In all of his many years of experience, he's never seen it so bad! Wow: That speaks volumes! He has nothing to gain by saying this, either; Tony just cares about the game of hockey (esp. the Vancouver Canucks!)

The game should be called the same way for both teams start to finish. They certainly had no problem calling the Wings by the letter of the rule book in overtime, so why not call the Pens on the obvious ones with 20 seconds left? The answer, is of course, bias. I don't know their motivations, and I couldn't care less anymore. I just know that the crucial calls or non-calls clearly went the way of the Pens... and it's not just about the Wings, it's about the NHL's credibility in general... There will always be sore losers that blame the refs, but when the winners (ie Babcock) and outside observers make an outcry, the league better listen up...

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

Was Datsyuk hooked?...absolutely

Was any ref gonna make that call in the final 20 seconds against ANY team? absolutely not

The thought that any ref..in that frenzy...would have the time or inclination to take into account favoritism to any team is absurd.

The Wings won because they were better...many calls made and not made on both sides....

enough already

we were better. better enough to sweep them or at least end it in five.

I'm pretty sure nobody has ever lost a series due to officiating. Sometimes the calls go your way, sometimes they don't. In a 7 game series, the better team always prevails. Sure I though the officiating was questionable, but their human beings just like the players. We don't have a committee of referees that review each penalty call to determine if the call was correct or not. The ref makes a split second decision based on his point of view. Of course replay shows what the correct call may or may not have been, but it won't show the refs point of view or what he was looking at.

"We lost because of bad calls" = "We are too proud to admit that we got beat by a better team and we need to practice harder"

Fail: Calgary 04 SCF. Shoudlve legitly won in OT Game 6. Goal should of counted

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

Good for Tony to have the guts to speak his mind on a controversial topic, and apparently, all of the people he bounced this off of prior to it's appearance in the newspaper agreed. In all of his many years of experience, he's never seen it so bad! Wow: That speaks volumes! He has nothing to gain by saying this, either; Tony just cares about the game of hockey (esp. the Vancouver Canucks!)

The game should be called the same way for both teams start to finish. They certainly had no problem calling the Wings by the letter of the rule book in overtime, so why not call the Pens on the obvious ones with 20 seconds left? The answer, is of course, bias. I don't know their motivations, and I couldn't care less anymore. I just know that the crucial calls or non-calls clearly went the way of the Pens... and it's not just about the Wings, it's about the NHL's credibility in general... There will always be sore losers that blame the refs, but when the winners (ie Babcock) and outside observers make an outcry, the league better listen up...

[Graybeard 0]

we were better. better enough to sweep them or at least end it in five.

Fail: Calgary 04 SCF. Shoudlve legitly won in OT Game 6. Goal should of counted

Brett Hull, skate, crease. Refs blowing games, series, playoffs with bad calls/non-calls is not unheard of.

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

Brett Hull, skate, crease. Refs blowing games, series, playoffs with bad calls/non-calls is not unheard of.

Which brings the instant replay question into play. If you have the technology, why not use it!? ie. Homer goal.

[Wingsor 2]

Interesting to find a neutral observer wondering the same things we all have been.

<a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=573430" target="_blank">http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=573430</a>

BRAVO, well written and said.

...and win or lose a fact is a fact. i dont care if it's us, or dallas getting horrible officiating against them vs anaheim last year...someone needs to look into this.

thanks for the link....saved