# NHL Playoffs **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 12, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862 "2009-04-12T17:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/481 "2009-06-02T02:42:20Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > If they didn’t suspend Walker and Bayda, they sure aren’t going to suspend Malkin. At least they are consistent. > - **dogbutler** , Canes fan. Just because they’re consistent doesn’t mean they’re right. They’re likely scared of appearing to affect the outcome of a series through rule enforcement. It just happens to have the unfortunate side effect of making the rules about as meaningful as those in pro wrestling. What’s going to happen now when similar incidents happen during the regular season? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/482 "2009-06-02T12:39:01Z")
Look, I don’t want to sound like a Seahawks fan, so let me walk my comments back a bit here. If the Red Wings win this series, they will have deserved the win. It’s a different style of play, with different officiating, but they are taking the opportunities it provides better than the Penguins are. The Pens could be, and should be, doing the same. It is nothing but my opinion that this kind of play isn’t good defense. In Pittsburgh, we love good defense, believe me, but that doesn’t mean we’d enjoy, for example, seeing football receivers being grabbed, clutched and interfered with on every play. It reminds me of the issue the NHL faced back in Lemieux’s day, when teams realized that the only way they could contain him was by holding, hooking and interfering, and made a decision that people wanted to watch hockey in order to see skill players play. They changed the way they officiated as a result. Finally, hell yeah there’s a shitload of luck involved in hockey. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/483 "2009-06-02T12:57:15Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Slows it down in what way, exactly? If you call things tight it will speed things up, and provide more power plays which certainly can involve some of the most exciting play in the game. I’d like to see a cite for this (not getting on your case **CP** , I just find that line of argument incomprehensible). Of course I can’t find a cite now, but it was widely talked about when the Devils perfected the neutral zone trap. Which of course was before the elimination of the two line pass. Sorry I can’t dig it up but it was there. I think you mis-interpreted my meaning of slows the game down. It breaks up the flow of the game (to some people, not me) and the more the refs have to confer with the score keeper the longer (in actual time) the game takes. Also, I have no data, but years of watching tell me that there are more faceoffs during a power play than there would be in any other given two minutes of a game. More faceoffs, more stoppages, less flow, the game is slower. Of course I think this is all an appeal to the casual fans, which, one assumes there would be more of during the playoffs and especially the finals. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/484 "2009-06-02T16:58:28Z")
I apologize for over-posting here on this topic, but I was just reading an article that summarizes my feelings pretty well, including this particular quote: > [@](#): > > Red Wings’ assistant Paul MacLean was a little bolder in his comments, noting: “It’s nice to see the players be able to play, but there are also rules in place that aren’t being enforced at the same time. The battle for the puck is one thing, but not being allowed to skate – things that have made the game better in the last four years – I think that has to remain the standard. > > “In these two games, there have been four power plays (five actually). I would say the standard has slipped a little, but neither team is known for taking penalties. They’re probably the two least-penalized teams in the league, so it’s not a surprise that power plays are down. But one in each game is a little surprising.” [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/special-teams-take-a-back-seat/article1164973/](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/special-teams-take-a-back-seat/article1164973/) ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/485 "2009-06-02T20:03:49Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Finally, hell yeah there’s a shitload of luck involved in hockey. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. Agreed, but the same could be said with any sport. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/486 "2009-06-03T02:34:39Z")
Interesting: when shit is called, the Pens win. Interesting indeed. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/487 "2009-06-03T02:36:37Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > Interesting: when shit is called, the Pens win. Interesting indeed. Not that interesting when the shit is called only on the Wings, and the Pens are skating 6. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/488 "2009-06-03T02:50:01Z")
Question: Are these the same refs every game, or is it a team in each city, or random teams from a set pool of refs? Is this different in the playoffs instead of during the regular season? I don’t actually have an opinion on the quality of the refereeing in these games, I’m just curious for my own hockey edjumacation! Also; yay Pens! I want this series to go to 7, because that means there are 4 more games left before no more hockey and sadness! ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/489 "2009-06-03T02:58:55Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Not that interesting when the shit is called only on the Wings, and the Pens are skating 6. Well yea, that was fucked up. I mean, there were a lot of no-calls still, for both teams, but the ones that were called seemed pretty fair, especially considering the past two games. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bruce\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/490 "2009-06-03T03:03:47Z")
Same refs from game 1. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/491 "2009-06-03T13:05:10Z")
How they didn’t catch the too many men on the ice is beyond me. Even though it won’t stop the whining, I hope my fellow Pens fans realize that the continued bad officiating tends to even out. **mnemosyne** the officials are chosen for the playoffs on “merit” by the league office (Stephen Walkom, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/492 "2009-06-03T13:30:03Z")
As to the officiating, I thought that last night was really inconsistent, both within Game 3 itself, and in comparison to Games 1 and 2. The first few penalties were for actual infractions, but looked really ticky-tack because they have been letting much worse go on. Later, they kind of put the whistles away again. You could say they badly missed a too many men on the ice penalty, or you could just say that they were letting them play, and that the Red Wings just failed to take advantage of it themselves. I think this is the problem when you just “let them play”, because there’s a reason why there are rules and refs to begin with, and if you don’t stick to the standard, players will begin pushing the limits until everyone remembers why there are rules. But at that point, reverting from the laissez faire standard you’ve adopted will necessarily seem arbitrary and capricious, unless you then keep to it. Which they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/493 "2009-06-03T15:07:19Z")
What pisses me off, is my Dish TV does not show the damn game in Detroit.NBC showed an Obama /whitehouse special. The only station showing it was CBC, the Canadian station. It is not on dish at all. It was not on ESPN, Fox sports or anywhere else. Shit,piss,fuck. Other than that I am fine today. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/494 "2009-06-03T15:36:15Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > What pisses me off, is my Dish TV does not show the damn game in Detroit.NBC showed an Obama /whitehouse special. The only station showing it was CBC, the Canadian station. It is not on dish at all. It was not on ESPN, Fox sports or anywhere else. Shit,piss,fuck. > Other than that I am fine today. Same here, no Versus on our lineup. I usually manage to find it on Ustream, but it’s not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/495 "2009-06-03T20:51:56Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > Interesting: when shit is called, the Pens win. Interesting indeed. Not so much considering that the calls were only (iirc) 3-2 in favor of the Pens. The biggest thing the Pens did right was to stop looking for the pretty play in front of the net and just started firing pucks from out there. That spread the Detroit defenders away from the net and let two goals between Ozzie’s legs. If they can keep that sort of play up, they have a good chance of winning the series. As good as Detroit has held up, the longer this series goes the worse it is for them. I’ll also give Pittsburgh credit for finally holding Abdelkader off the score sheet.😉 The pressure is back on Detroit now. While they played better through two periods, the wear and tear showed in the third when they let the game get away from them. They should be better after another day off and with the likely return of Pavel Datsyuk from injury. They still have to get better on the penalty kill and on clearing the puck out of their zone. Both have been huge problems in this years playoffs and a team like Pittsburgh will take advantage if given enough opportunities. As for the twenty seconds of extra power play time that the Pens took, I can’t blame the refs. The Detroit bench didn’t catch it either. I also thought it made up for the dive Cleary took to set up Detroit’s power play and eventual goal. Remember kids. If the players hands go up in the air, he’s taking a dive. And that’s todays helpful hockey tip.😉 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/496 "2009-06-04T01:13:26Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > What pisses me off, is my Dish TV does not show the damn game in Detroit.NBC showed an Obama /whitehouse special. The only station showing it was CBC, the Canadian station. It is not on dish at all. It was not on ESPN, Fox sports or anywhere else. Shit,piss,fuck. > Other than that I am fine today. This irritates Canadians (or at least our journalists, which we read and get to feel indignant too until we get distracted by something shiny). It was NBC that insisted on this particular game schedule for games 1 and 2 because of Conan/Leno or whatever, but they couldn’t care less about the rest of the series, while up here, TV stations rearrange their schedules to accomodate hockey, even when it isn’t the playoffs! It allows us to rant on news comments pages about the stereotype of “Americans don’t care about hockey, it’s Canada’s game (_and lately:_ Bring the Coyotes to Hamilton!)” Just for fun, I looked up the Game 1 number of viewers: [NBC had 4.5 million](http://puckthemedia.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/breaking-nbc-draws-4-5-million-viewers-for-game-1-wins-weak-saturday-night-of-programming/) [CBC had 1.7 million](http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Playoffs/2009/06/03/9666071-cp.html) and to be fair, there is an additional estimation of about 400 000 or so viewers on RDS for a total of 2.1 million Canadian viewers. Canada has a tenth of the US population and neither team is from Canada. I don’t know why those numbers surprise me so much, but they do. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/497 "2009-06-04T01:58:47Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > This irritates Canadians (or at least our journalists, which we read and get to feel indignant too until we get distracted by something shiny). It was NBC that insisted on this particular game schedule for games 1 and 2 because of Conan/Leno or whatever, but they couldn’t care less about the rest of the series, while up here, TV stations rearrange their schedules to accomodate hockey, even when it isn’t the playoffs! It allows us to rant on news comments pages about the stereotype of “Americans don’t care about hockey, it’s Canada’s game (_and lately:_ Bring the Coyotes to Hamilton!)” > > Just for fun, I looked up the Game 1 number of viewers: > [NBC had 4.5 million](http://puckthemedia.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/breaking-nbc-draws-4-5-million-viewers-for-game-1-wins-weak-saturday-night-of-programming/) > [CBC had 1.7 million](http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Playoffs/2009/06/03/9666071-cp.html) > > and to be fair, there is an additional estimation of about 400 000 or so viewers on RDS for a total of 2.1 million Canadian viewers. > > Canada has a tenth of the US population and neither team is from Canada. > > I don’t know why those numbers surprise me so much, but they do. Of course in Detroit, you could not get the game. How screwed up is that? I suspect a few would have liked to see the game and the numbers would have been better. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/498 "2009-06-05T01:57:30Z")
Now, the last 13 minutes of the 2nd period…THAT is what the Pens are capable of. If they play like that the rest of the series, they’ll win 4 straight to close out the series. I don’t know if they can keep that up, but that’s the way they played against Carolina, and we all know how that ended up. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/499 "2009-06-05T02:44:54Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Now, the last 13 minutes of the 2nd period…THAT is what the Pens are capable of. If they play like that the rest of the series, they’ll win 4 straight to close out the series. I don’t know if they can keep that up, but that’s the way they played against Carolina, and we all know how that ended up. Not to sell the Pens short here, but Detroit looks tired. Really, really tired. The passes are sloppy. They’re giving up tons of turnovers. They aren’t getting back on the backcheck. This compressed schedule is, to be quite frank, kicking their ass. More importantly than getting back to Detroit or getting Datsyuk back is getting a day off. There are also possible injuries to Samuelsson and Holmstrom, who looked particularly slow tonight. How slow is that? Slower than normal for him. Detroit has good depth. Maybe it’s time to give Homer some time off and put Abdelkader back in. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862/500 "2009-06-05T02:51:50Z")
Damn those were some pretty goals, huh? Couple that with some really good defense, and that was just a dominating Pens performance. It’s no doubt the Red Wings looked tired - that was just an ass kicking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhl-playoffs/492862.md?page=26)