Are the NHL referees fixing the games?
The NHL sucks or I should say the East sucks when you play there. I’m sorry but are you kidding me? I think the league has to start picking at the East for cheating or something especially when it comes to the equipment. Like how the sports casters have pointed out, Ovechkin has an illegal curve to the blade of his stick but I have to wonder it is skill or cheating? He maybe a good player but I think he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with a stick like his. I think they should start enforcing that rule about the blade.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when the refs didn’t call anything against Atlanta or Washington but against Calgary it wasn’t a problem. I’m sorry but Calgary getting 5 straight penalties against would tilt the game considerably when a lot of the calls were made in the last 6 minutes of the game. I would say Calgary has a huge chip in their game especially since they play such a grinding game and gets penalized for it because the Eastern Conference players are so fragile that it makes me sick.
A lot of the calls I would say were questionable to say the least and the calls the refs made against the Flames basically decided the game. No matter how good you are it sucks when you wondering if the officials are fixing the games to go a certain way? When a lot of players were being taken down and or you think they iced the puck and didn’t or the “quick” whistles make you wonder.
If it can happen in Basketball a non contact sport it can be easily done in hockey. This didn’t just happen to Calgary but with the goal against Detroit when it went off the mesh and you could tell the mesh is moving to the Buffalo’s too many men goal in overtime. It amazes me how the non calls are a game breaking moments.
I would say the NHL has a bone to pick with any top division teams, especially on the west. I don’t want to use Calgary as an example but their last 5 games are always away and a lot of traveling for the last several years. Why can’t they end their last game at home?
The refs are only human. They can’t see everything. It has gotten much better since the league went to the two ref system. The job of an NHL ref is a demanding one. The travel, physical requirements, not to mention being hated by everyone. It’s the only sport where refs need to seriously watch out for their well being.(Pat Dapuzzo this season?) They may miss a call or two….or three… They still have character
There are too many other eyes watching for the league to allow refs to fix the games. The War Room monitors every game and every call as well as referee supervisors at the arenas.
After each game, each official has to submit paper work to the league just in case a call is questioned the next morning. There are to many checks and balances to allow the refs to fix games. The only thing you do when bad mouth refs is bad mouth the greatest game ever played. Are you really a hockey fan? If you are, you should support anybody working for the league. I do agree that they screw calls up now and again. That’s part of the game. It’s way better than B-Ball!!!!
The west is a tougher conference. Most of the teams are all together great. I think the east does have it a bit easier. I do agree with you that something needs to be done about scheduling. That’s the magic of you’re front office instead. Get on them instead of the refs…. Thanks for listening my fellow hockey fan. Enjoy the quest for Stanley!!!!
Yes they are only humans but come on serious do you believe they are doing their best? I stopped counting with the Vancouver/ Edmonton game when the refs threw everything and called to give Vancouver the chance to get into the playoffs but unfortunately that backed fired in the leagues games.
As for the reference to the NBA i could careless, they are over paid players that are so clueless into how they rip off the ticket holders with small courts and a bunch of grown men full of themselves. I like contact sport or where the game area is larger like soccer.
To question if I was hockey fan I find it insulting when I watch the games of my home team when it is on the tv. It is obvious that the league would like to have more American interest into the NHL hence my theory to fixing the games to take out as many Canadian teams to give the American teams a chance to play well and game the fans.
I feel that the league changing their rules would be good if they called everything that has changed. I feel that the league favors certain teams to encourage the fans to come out. If teams are moving or they want to add to the league it is always somewhere in the states over Canada.
Is it my fault that the American’s like Baseball ( men wacking balls for millions of dollars), Football ( bunch of oversized grown men running around), and then you have the NHL well they have to pay the players to stay in the cities to play for. Or dare I say it, Americans like Golf or Nascar racing over hockey. yawn.
As for the Eastern conference, the teams have it way easier and the refs on that side do not like the tough west. Unfortunately all I think about the east is that they will choke Crosby = Lindros, it will be the greatest blunder when Crosby acts like a pretty boy instead of a teamate. The only team i like so far is Montreal. everyone else is meh.
How many NHL referees does it take to make a correct call in the NHL? I have seen more blown calls in the last two years due to ignorance on the refereees part than I care to mention. If ignorance on the part of an NHL is a key requirement; participation is at 100%. How many cameras does an NHL refereee need to make a call. None, they screw it up anyway, its the NHL way…
With more stupid calls to speed up the game, which it hasnt done, Bettman and his American refs have Canadian teams under a barrel. Unless a Canadian team somehow becomes dominant, Canadas teams are in trouble. Funny, bit if that happens, we should form our own league, as the best players are mostly Canadian. You dont play fair with us, we take our players.
Penguins can’t win games unless the Ref give them Power Plays.
French Canadians control the NHL>
Let’s see, last I checked, there were 6 NHL referees that were from the USA, and most were either 50/50 split with the AHL, or lower level officials. So, that kind of blows your whole thought process out.
hey Jim
Which game are you talking about? I don’t believe there are six refs on the ice. There are Two lines man and two refs, please clarify. The main point I was getting at how a game seems odd that one team is free of calls and the other isn’t and secondly, when you have calls that question the whole game itself was: was it in or not? This was the case for San Jose vs. Dallas. Having that question hang over your game is never good.
I don’t care about the nationality of the refs because clearly Bettman wants more money made in the states over the smaller franchises up North. So you point is moot as well. Look what they did to Canada. Took two Canadian teams and moved them to the states. Hmm it doesn’t take a genius to figure what’s really going around here.
I just wish that they would either call everything or nothing at all. I watched the finals. The Penguins got some good breaks with a couple of 5 on 3 powerplays but Detroit still got away with a lot. Maybe they have a quota of calls to make. I saw Talbot get hit from behind three times face first into the boards and nothing was called. He could’ve broken his neck. I realize that the refs can’t see everything but come on. Ray Charles could see most of those penalties. Even the announcers couldn’t believe some of what they saw. The refs were so inconsistent. They would call alot of penalties early on and then let a lot of stuff go. I don’t know if they didn’t make a lot of calls because of the tv schedule but I think they robbed hockey fans everywhere of a great back and forth series. Both teams had so much speed and skill. This years final looked more like one of the boring series from the mid 90s. What a disappointment.
Bob, you’re an idiot, don’t post anything, ever, anywhere, again. This years final series was no where close to boring, maybe you should be watching ballet instead.
bobhater must be a Red Wings fan because only a Red Wings fan would think it was a good series. Games 1 and 2 weren’t worth watching. Games 3-6 were fun to watch and more open because Bettman had some words with Detroit’s coach before game 3. The Penguins still got screwed by the refs. Just like every team that played against the Senators last year up until the finals. You must have a pretty pathetic life to worry about my post. I’m on here to vent my frustrations about the refs with like-minded people, not you. Maybe I should watch ballet, it would be better than watching a fixed series.