887 replies to this topic

[haroldsnepsts]

Flyers win, Voracek.

Pens blow a 3-0 lead.

Awesome.

I kind of wish I had watched that game instead of the Wings.

[Dirty Dangle]

Penguins tears taste so good.

[Hockeytown0001]

Nice win for the Flyers.

[haroldsnepsts]

For those who think Bettman has the refs calling games to favor the Pens, that first goal by Briere that started the comeback was offsides.

Don't get me wrong, I loved watching Pittsburgh lose in heartbreaking fashion. Just sayin'...

[haroldsnepsts]

Edi, this one's for you. Put on the tinfoil hat!


NHL unhappy with missed offsides on Flyers goal

TORONTO -- Colin Campbell feels the pain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The NHL's senior executive vice-president of hockey operations acknowledged Thursday that linesman Tony Sericolo erred in not whistling the play dead prior to Danny Briere's first goal in the opening game of the Penguins-Flyers series.

"There's no other way to explain it but a missed call," Campbell told The Canadian Press in an interview. "We're as upset as Pittsburgh almost. It's a mistake."

Briere scored Philadelphia's first goal on Wednesday night after being sent in on a breakaway by teammate Brayden Schenn. The long pass came immediately after a neutral zone turnover and replays showed that Briere was a couple feet offside.
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"It was a quick turnaround," said Campbell. "You can see it was a quick 70-foot pass -- the linesman was up with the play and then had to move quickly back and he saw it from the angle he saw it from.

"But still his job is to get the right call and he didn't."

But you know Campbell, he's always admitting the league makes all kinds of mistakes and apologizing for things. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Pens being involved.

[Nightfall]

But you know Campbell, he's always admitting the league makes all kinds of mistakes and apologizing for things. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Pens being involved.

Admitting the league makes all kinds of mistakes is really stating the obvious. There isn't a sports league on this planet that doesn't have mistakes that are made by the referees or linesmen. The linesman that missed that offsides call probably won't be working the rest of the playoffs this year.

I have a friend who referees for the CCHA. Even he says that an egregious missed call by a linesman like this will guarantee him to have a few weeks off. Same goes for a head referee who makes a mistake when it comes to rule knowledge.

[haroldsnepsts]

Admitting the league makes all kinds of mistakes is really stating the obvious. There isn't a sports league on this planet that doesn't have mistakes that are made by the referees or linesmen. The linesman that missed that offsides call probably won't be working the rest of the playoffs this year.

I have a friend who referees for the CCHA. Even he says that an egregious missed call by a linesman like this will guarantee him to have a few weeks off. Same goes for a head referee who makes a mistake when it comes to rule knowledge.

To me it's not about the mistakes themselves, but the fact that Campbell of all people came out admitting they made a mistake. I can't think of another instance where that's happened.

And in general it was a pretty terrible showing by the NHL officiating top to bottom last night.

[Firehawk]

I can live with linesmen missing a call once in a great while. Nothing you can do about that, and those things will happen, but 99% of the time those linesman are right.

What I cannot live with is the inconsistency with refereeing in this 'minor league'. I don't get the disparity between games and between the regular and playoff seasons. Some of the calls last night were so egregious you can't even find the penalty in slow motion replay. Yet someon gets a stick to the head and its missed 3 times in the game. I'm not talking just the wings, preds too.

How come the last several years in round 1 the refs decide to call every little thing imaginable in our series?

WIth that said, the pens/flyers game was awesome last night. I'm pulling for the flyers, obviously. s***sburg need not win another playoff series as long as cindy is there.

[Red Wings Addict]

I'm not going to get into a he said she said with the Pens. I'm the he.

[Red Wings Addict]

Seriously, kill each other you two. Hits below the belt are allowed.

[dirtydangles]

they would be "upset" that the pens got shafted. if it was the wings they'd probably be excited and overjoyed.

[Resetti]

To me it's not about the mistakes themselves, but the fact that Campbell of all people came out admitting they made a mistake. I can't think of another instance where that's happened.

And in general it was a pretty terrible showing by the NHL officiating top to bottom last night.

It might be a matter of people tuning out Colin Campbell. Here are some other examples of Campbell acknowledging blown calls:

-----

From April 6th, 2012 on Ryane Clowe interfering from the bench (game between San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings):

“If the officials had seen the actions of Ryane Clowe it would have definitely been a two-minute interference penalty,” Colin Campbell, the NHL’s senior vice president for hockey operations, told The Times on Friday. “It was obviously a missed call.”

source

From October 28th, 2010 on missed goalie interference (game between Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators):

"It's quite obvious if they had the chance to see it again, you would hope the call would be made that it was interference on a goaltender,'' Campbell said to the Miami Herald. "This happens. It doesn't happen often, but it's certainly a call you wish was made differently.''

source

From November 4th, 2006 on a goal being waived off in the waning seconds of the third period (game between Edmonton Oilers and Atlanta Thrashers):

"While the NHL regrets the missed call, Craig MacTavish's comments after the game regarding the call were totally inappropriate and crossed the line," Colin Campbell, the league's director of hockey operations, said in a statement.

source

-----

The reality is that the NHL has a great opportunity to showcase their product, with all playoff series being nationally broadcast, and they're not competing directly with the NBA at the moment. The league should be sensitive to how the teams, players, and officials perform. Unfortunately, opening night highlighted a blatantly missed offsides call that sparked a comeback, Weber ramming Zetterberg's head into the boards out of frustration, and Bitz's vicious boarding hit on Clifford. But I think it just goes without say that people will read this apology, file it in their mind as league favoritism to Pittsburgh, and be done with it.

[egroen]

First time I've seen the NHL "angry" about a call and Bettman later on the air saying the officials would be "held responsible".

I swear, it's like they are purposefully adding fuel to the tin foil cap crowd. Pretty much in the past week you have no suspension for Orprik's knee-on-knee, an exhorbant fine to Torts for calling the Pens arrogant, Bettman defending Crosby on air after Milbury/Torts/Berube comments and now an official being thrown under the bus for blowing a call that hurt the Pens. Mario Lemieux publishes an article on his website and releases it to the media directly criticizing the NHL's officiating and doesn't get fined a cent. And every Wings fan here can name more than a handful of other dubious incidents that have coincidently favored the Penguins over the past few years. Except it's not just Wings fans... It's pretty much every other fanbase, and also players and coaches who notice and comment on it. I'm at the point where I wouldn't even be surprised if the league announced Crosby's number was to be retired leaguewide... tomorrow.

[Red Wings Addict]

First time I've seen the NHL "angry" about a call and Bettman later on the air saying the officials would be "held responsible".

I swear, it's like they are purposefully adding fuel to the tin foil cap crowd. Pretty much in the past week you have no suspension for Orprik's knee-on-knee, an exhorbant fine to Torts for calling the Pens arrogant, Bettman defending Crosby on air after Milbury/Torts/Berube comments and now an official being thrown under the bus for blowing a call that hurt the Pens. Mario Lemieux publishes an article on his website and releases it to the media directly criticizing the NHL's officiating and doesn't get fined a cent. And every Wings fan here can name more than a handful of other dubious incidents that have coincidently favored the Penguins over the past few years. Except it's not just Wings fans... It's pretty much every other fanbase, and also players and coaches who notice and comment on it. I'm at the point where I wouldn't even be surprised if the league announced Crosby's number was to be retired leaguewide... tomorrow.

Yep.

[cusimano_brothers]

Is there a job Colin Campbell can handle?
Pittsburgh again takes the "high road"; this time over the "blown call". This is getting old.

[xtrememachine1]

There's all this talk about the missed off sides call that lead to a goal and that's why the Pens lost. That's garbage. First, the Pens had a 3-0 lead at home against a team they hate. No excuses. Win the game. Briere scores. Whoop. Now you have a two goal lead at home, which in the playoffs, should be MORE than enough. Second, the Penguins had ZERO penalties against them until there was 10 minutes left in the game when Orpik almost took off Briere's head with hit up high. You don't play a physical brand of hockey and not take a few penalties. Especially when you're up against the Flyers. Third, I watched the third period of that game and the Flyers were dominant. Jagr was flying around like it was 1996 again, Briere was great, the defensemen were pinching in and generating offense, their passing and skating was incredible. The Pens, not the Flyers, were lucky it got as far as OT. Carle missed an empty net, Giroux wiffed on a shot with half the net open, one shot rolled just wide... the Flyers could have had more than 2 goals in the third. Despite what the media talks about, outside the first period, the Flyers were decisively the better team, that's why the game ended the way it did, not because of the "missed offsides". For the Pens sake, I hope they focus on the real reason they lost and not the reasons the media is telling them.

[drwscc]

Don't forget the blown icing call that led directly to the Pens goal. I'm shocked Colin Campbell didn't bring that up.

[cnot19]

Don't forget the blown icing call that led directly to the Pens goal. I'm shocked Colin Campbell didn't bring that up.

I thought he did bring that up. Maybe im wrong, but I thought read somewhere that was addressed as well. Either way should be a great game two, I need more TVs so I can watch all the games,

[drwscc]

Not in the TSN article. I thought the 70 foot lead pass was it, but that was also about the offsides.

Edited by drwscc, 13 April 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[haroldsnepsts]

It might be a matter of people tuning out Colin Campbell. Here are some other examples of Campbell acknowledging blown calls:

-----

From April 6th, 2012 on Ryane Clowe interfering from the bench (game between San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings):

“If the officials had seen the actions of Ryane Clowe it would have definitely been a two-minute interference penalty,” Colin Campbell, the NHL’s senior vice president for hockey operations, told The Times on Friday. “It was obviously a missed call.”

source

From October 28th, 2010 on missed goalie interference (game between Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators):

"It's quite obvious if they had the chance to see it again, you would hope the call would be made that it was interference on a goaltender,'' Campbell said to the Miami Herald. "This happens. It doesn't happen often, but it's certainly a call you wish was made differently.''

source

From November 4th, 2006 on a goal being waived off in the waning seconds of the third period (game between Edmonton Oilers and Atlanta Thrashers):

"While the NHL regrets the missed call, Craig MacTavish's comments after the game regarding the call were totally inappropriate and crossed the line," Colin Campbell, the league's director of hockey operations, said in a statement.

source

-----

The reality is that the NHL has a great opportunity to showcase their product, with all playoff series being nationally broadcast, and they're not competing directly with the NBA at the moment. The league should be sensitive to how the teams, players, and officials perform. Unfortunately, opening night highlighted a blatantly missed offsides call that sparked a comeback, Weber ramming Zetterberg's head into the boards out of frustration, and Bitz's vicious boarding hit on Clifford. But I think it just goes without say that people will read this apology, file it in their mind as league favoritism to Pittsburgh, and be done with it.

Wow that's some serious homework you did. I stand corrected.

For the record I don't really think there is some league wide conspiracy to prop up Pittsburgh (I think the Pens did it through a series of fortunate top draft picks). It's why I made the joke about the tinfoil hat. I didn't remember Campbell ever apologizing like that though so I figured the conspiracy theorists would go nuts.

And I agree, the league really crapped the bed with its officiating on the first night of playoffs. If they wanted to erase the impression they're a marginal canadian sport that's basically mugging guys on skates, they didn't do a very good job.