Tag Archives: detroit red wings

Oi Vey Playoff Controversy strikes again!

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In the playoffs there is inevitably going to be controversy one way or another BUT hopefully not so much that it will impact the final outcome of a series. There will ALWAYS be a bad call or two made within a series, but you have to hope that those calls don’t come back to haunt a team.

Last night there was yet another playoff controversial call made that made SOME people very irate and SOME people very happy…depending which side you are on. The call made on the ice brought to mind an incident that occurred last year in the second round of the playoffs.

Let’s go back to one of last year’s worst calls that nearly determined a series…game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks scored what they thought was the go-ahead goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation only to have the refs call the goal off and nearly cost Chicago the series.

The goal was called off…in game 7 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. The team was forced to regroup and return for overtime. It was absurd in the sense that overtime should not have been required but it was and all that mattered to both teams was the next goal wins and moves forward. Had the Blackhawks NOT found a way to get the overtime goal in game 7, that terrible call made in the final two minutes of regulation would have not only determined the series outcome but haunted the Blackhawks all off-season. We all know what happened in the end, the Blackhawks scored a goal in overtime that could not be taken away ending the Red Wings post season and eventually went on to win the Stanley Cup.

THIS YEAR, A very controversial call was made in game 6 between the San Jose Sharks and the LA Kings that saw the Kings awarded a goal that in ANY other game would have been called off immediately. The game was in a 1-1 deadlock with just over 8 minutes left in regulation that seemed destined for overtime…that is until this goal by Justin Williams was scored:

Up until THAT goal it seemed as though neither team was going to budge…San Jose wanted to finally send the Kings packing and the Kings wanted to force a 7th game. I am not saying that the Kings wouldn’t have ended up winning game 6 in the end BUT that goal shifted the game from a stare down waiting for someone to blink to an LA take down in the final 8 minutes as they added two more goals to their lead and forced a 7th game. THAT goal awakened the Kings to keep

Some people will argue that it was a good goal and others will argue that it was definitely not a goal. At the end of the day, it does not matter because regardless of what the call should have been, the Kings were determined to not go without a fight and in doing so tied the series 3-3. The Kings have battled back from a 3-0 series and will look to complete the comeback in game 7 with  a victory.

There have only been 3 teams in NHL history to ever comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series:

1. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, the Maple Leafs came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.

2. In 1975 the New York Islanders came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. The Islanders lost in 7 games in the semifinal to the eventual Stanley Cup champion, Philadelphia Flyers.

3. In 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers stunned the hockey world when they not only came back from a 3-0 deficit in the series but also a 3-0 deficit in game 7 against the Boston Bruins to win the series 4-3. The Flyers went on to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in 6 games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

There have been many teams that have been CLOSE to accomplishing the comeback completed feat but only 3 teams have stolen their series…the question is, will the LA Kings become the 4th team in NHL history to accomplish the feat? Or will the Sharks steal their thunder with some game 7 heroics? We will have our answer at the final buzzer of game 7 between San Jose and LA as their game will wrap up the end of round one. Are you ready hockey fans to see what will unfold in these last two days remaining in the quarterfinals of the 2014 NHL playoffs?

We are in for a wild ride to the finish and we’ve still got three more rounds to go before all is said and done! As always, until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.

Oi Vey Game 7 Controversy…!

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In the playoffs it is inevitable that there will be a few questionable or missed calls. Wednesday’s game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings featured a few missed calls here and there as the refs attempted to let the two teams play it out. BUT there was one call in particular near the end of the game that will go down as one of the worst calls made in the 2013 playoffs so far. I know I am not the only one who was shaking their head at that no goal call.

There was just under two minutes left as the game seemed destined for overtime in a tight 1-1 game that is until the Blackhawks scored the go ahead goal. Cue the madhouse going bonkers as the fans were up on their feet as only game 7 intensity can when it appears the home side will win. That is until the arena realizes that the refs have in fact waived off the goal and it remains a tied game. Everyone in that arena and watching on TV was stunned at the call….stunned I tell you. I may not be a fan of Chicago BUT I know a bad call when I see one & that was most definitely a bad call and they were forced to think for a moment of the what if possibilities. That call could have cost Chicago the game and the series, that no goal would have haunted them for the summer had Detroit ended up winning that game. We all know what happened, Chicago came out in overtime and made no mistake in getting back the goal they were robbed of to take the series and move on the playoffs. 

 

No this call did not end up costing Chicago the series BUT it could have. There are always controversial calls/non-calls made in the playoffs BUT this one takes the cake. I may not be a fan of Chicago but as a fan of the game when the refs make a gaffe that huge that could and almost does impact the outcome of the game and series…it makes one question: who is pulling the strings in this puppet game?[*cough*Bettman*cough]  

Just 4 teams remain and you can bet those teams and their fans will be hoping that there be no more nonsense calls like that one. Will there be calls missed? Probably but hopefully none that are on this scale where it could impact a series outcome. The kicker is that these were seasoned refs making the calls last night…and you can bet had the game gone the other way the blame would most certainly lie with the ref who made the controversial call.

Best of luck to the final 4 teams [Chicago, LA, Boston, & Pittsburgh]! I cannot cheer for Boston, LA or for Chicago though I respect the talent that those THREE rosters boast. I will cheer for Pittsburgh mostly because of Iginla who deserves to win it all after everything he endured the last few years. No I am not a bandwagon fan BUT I do enjoy the game itself beyond my Canucks. So, if other Canucks fans find themselves drawn to watching hockey during the final four and cheering for any of the teams there will be no judgement. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion as to whoever they want to support whether that is for Pittsburgh, Boston, LA or Chicago.

There will always be controversy and missed calls in one playoff series but you hope that if controversy and missed calls combine that it does not end up determining a series outcome.

As always, until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.