Comments on: Is officiating a cause for concern for Tampa Bay in Game 6? Guy Boucher is aware it might

By: sharks408

sharks408 — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:38:29 +0000

Wait til either team plays Vancouver. Talk about lopsided, NHL wants nucks to win

By: savoirlaire

savoirlaire — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:50:54 +0000

And I know two things–

1) Tim Thomas is head and shoulders above Rolofson or Smith
2) Tampa’s PP sucks right now about as much as the Bruins (see above)

I still think Tampa gets the W tonite, but B’s in 7!

By: govtminion

govtminion — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:40:58 +0000

Is there bias against Tampa? No idea. But I do know two things.

1) Boucher got set up to make comments that could then be made into the inflammatory “Look what HE said!” mold. He didn’t say “I think this ref is biased”, he answered a question put forth by a reporter- he was honest about it, perhaps more than he should have been, but it’s not like he’s announcing this of his own accord.

2) Even if there IS bias… ok, so you’re on the PK for a good part of the night. Have you seen Boston’s power play? Relax, you’ll be fine guys. Just keep trying to clear the puck towards Kaberle and you’ll be able to use that PK time almost as a rest period!

By: stakex

stakex — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:30:12 +0000

The NHL has no credability when it comes to the officiating. Its been horrible the last few years, and many game outcomes have been changed by the officials calls… and thats not how things should be. The best team should win becuase they are the best team, not because the calls were in their favor.

For example, we all know (or should) how the calls are going to go in game six. They are going to be in Tampas favor, because the league wants a game seven. A game seven means both more excietment, and more advertisement revenue…. and where ever there is money to be made, someone is going to try and make it. So say the refs favor Tampa tonight, and they win because of it. Then they go ahead and get a couple good breaks in the evenly called game seven and end up winning…. Boston would have been screwed out of the series by the NHL’s desire to see the series go to game seven.

Thats just not how things should work in a professional sport, but the NHL is doing every single thing it can to try and promote the sport… and longer, more dramatic series in the playoffs can do just that (so can overtime and shootouts in regulation games). A quick look at the stats show penelty calls almost always overwhelmingly favor the team trailing in both series and games. If you think thats just a coincidence…. your very nieve. Its because the NHL wants games to go to overtime, and they want series to go the distance. Obviouslly that doesn’t always happen because penelty calls don’t always mean goals, but the league is certainly trying.

By: homelanddefense

homelanddefense — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:16:06 +0000

yeah this is twice this blog has tried to make a claim about Downie getting screwed by the refs and I just dont see it. Does Joe Yerdon live in Tampa?

If anything Boucher is making these claims so this ref hears it and is less likely to call a penalty on TB.

Thru 5 games the Bruins have had 1 more PP then Tampa…its been pretty even.

By: emperor83

emperor83 — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:05:29 +0000

Anyone who saw Buffalo vs. Philadelphia games 2 and 5 this year knows about horrible officiating. But then again, there’s times like Game 4 where GOOD officiating is complained about because that game’s losing team didn’t want a penalty.

By: abrienza428

abrienza428 — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:41:11 +0000

Seems like Boucher is just using a little gamemanship in hopes of buying a call or two or getting away with one. I certainly don’t think it can hurt, so I’m all for it.