Reffing Biases?

Quite Pissed-Off Today...


So at the game last night...I noticed that there were a lot of missed calls by the referees. In the opening minutes of the game I tweeted this..."Already the refs have blown two calls, hopefully they do better." 


Well...they didn't do better, in fact it got worse in key situations. In the third period Dan Tencer from Ched tweeted these gems..."Ericsson cross-checked Reddox to the ice 3 times on the last shift...then Salei tackles Hall. No penalties. Mystified." and then this a few minutes later..."Becoming more clear every night that NHL officials lack respect for Taylor Hall for some reason. He gets virtually no calls. Unreal."


So I called up Dan after the game, something I haven't done in a very long time, and I asked him about it. His comments were that due to the Stanley Cup winners on their team, Experienced guys they have, and just sheer respect for Detroit, that the Red wings get a break. And, because our young Oilers players are exactly that, young. And...because they haven't yet "paid their dues" in the NHL, that they don't get any respect when penalties should be called. I had mentioned that this wasn't the first game this has happened this year, and that we seem to be on the short end of the stick lately, and asked what he thought. Dan mentioned that they (reporters) had asked Tom Renney about it on Monday at practice and Renney didn't want to comment by saying anything that might get him in hot water from the league. I got the feeling that Tencer implied that Renney wasn't happy and was minding his tongue on this topic.


Let me say this... I can't believe in this day and age of TV replay, and media scrutiny, that this kind of unfair officiating is allowed to take place. In fact...if it's going to be unfair, it should be the other way around, wher young guys learning the NHL game should get some breaks not knowing what they can get away with. Veteran type players, especially Cup Champion types should know better, and should be penalized for dirty play because of it. 


I will say that Nick Lidstrom did called in the third that gave us a powerplay, but...this game was a blatant disregard for the rules, by the officials in my mind. Now...it's not like our PP would've made the difference in the game, as it has struggled all year and in this game as well going 0-3. If the above mentioned calls had been made, we may have been able to make something happen, as we had a new look to the PP last night and all they may have needed was more opportunity to gel together on the man advantage.


Doesn't Matter, No Defense = No Wins...


Since Whitney has gone down, we have not won a game. We are now on a 7 game losing streak. Jim Vandermeer had a terrible give away that led to a goal, Smid had one go off his skate, and Teddy Peckman blew a tire trying to cover his man, and the goal was scored. Not a good effort by the defense last night!


Not Getting Any Easier...


The only team we play in the next six that might be "easy" is the Islanders on Thursday. After that the schedule gets pretty tough for a stretch. Hopefully we can win the Islander game, get some confidence back, and get on a roll. We will need to fix the PP too if we hope to succeed.


Either way...a high draft pick is all good!


GO Oilers GO!