[NHL] Blatant Bias in the NHL

[SifuToast]

OK, I think everyone's had their suspicions for a while about the blatant favoritism of some teams in the NHL. If the team is popular or doing well the refs and judges tend to be more lenient with penalties and what gets called. But now they are doing it on hits. This not only gives the better teams MORE of an advantage but also really really hurts talented players.

Take a look at the following links:

If you're the Minnesota Wild (13th in their conference) your player gets suspended for 2 games because of a bad hit.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4971731&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines

If you're Montreal (ranked #7 in their conference) and you make a hit on someone playing for the NHL's favorite, I mean, Best Playing team the San Jose Sharks (#1 in the West).
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4970005&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines THAT'S 4 GAMES MISTER!!

If you're Cam Janssen of the St. Louis Blues (#11 in their division) and you hit someone on the Captials (#1 in the East)
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=518956#&navid=nhl-search

Yet if you're ON one of those favorite teams you can get away with murder... or at least attempted manslaughter.
#2 ranked Pittsburgh Penguins (Last years cup winners) foward Matt Cooke FUCKING LEVELED and possibly used his elbow to INDEFINITELY CONCUSS #8 ranked Boston Bruin's star Marc Savard. And now he might not even get fined! Here's a video of him on a stretcher on the ice looking like a car accident victim: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nhl/news/story?id=4976830&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines

What the fuck NHL. This shit is ruining the game. You're hurting players and making it less fun to watch if you know the refs are going to cheat for whichever team is cooler.

[SifuToast]

Well, its official. Cooke is not even being fined or suspended. Guess I'll just pick up my Marc Savard jersey:

[buzzium81]

I saw a replay of Cooke's hit on Savard. That was absolute bullshit. At the VERY LEAST, he should be fined. Fuck the Penguins.

[SifuToast]

Let's see if Ovechkin gets suspended for the boarding hit on Campbell that left him with a broken collar bone and broken ribs.

[SifuToast]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4997843&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines

2 games because he's a repeat offender..... and a star player.

[SifuToast]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/alex-ovechkin-suspended.html

Update, 5:50 p.m.: Tarik just spoke to Coach Bruce Boudreau at the team hotel in South Florida. Here's some of what he had to say:

"I've been pacing all day upstairs, waiting for the decision. It's a tough call for [NHL VP Colin Campbell]. I don't want his job today. ... The decision has been made. I don't agree with it. But maybe if I was [Chicago Coach] Joel Quenneville, I wouldn't think it wasn't enough. ...

"I watched [the hit] frame by frame, trying to think what they would think. To me, there's no way that was anywhere near a vicious as [Colorado enforcer David] Koci's hit on Mike [Green on Dec. 15]. Nowhere near. ...

"If you look at it, [Campbell's] skates were parallel to the net. Once Campbell dishes it off, he knows Alex is there. He doesn't hit him, he pushes him. As he's going, it looked to me like [Campbell's] left leg stumbled and he almost toe-picked the ice. He's one of the greatest skaters in the game. He's stayed healthy because he's able to avoid this. I'm sure he thought he was going to spin off it. ...

"The [refs] waited and waited. They didn't want to make the call. The last thing [referee] Dan O'Halloran wanted to do was kick Alex Ovechkin out of an NBC game. But he thought in his mind that, 'If this guy is hurt, I have to give him a five-minute major.' ...

There you go folks. Admittance right there. The last thing anyone wants to do is punish a star during a nationally televised game.

[rustedshut]

That's weak. Time to see what the Hawks are like without their top paid defenseman. One thing that my second favorite Hawks defender, Hjalmarson, doesn't have is good blue line slapshots and point offense. Time for Kim Johnson to step up too.

[SifuToast]

Johnsson is injured still, but he should be back this week or next.

[SifuToast]

Before I get to the Horrible hits from last night's ducks game. I want to give more background on the HORRIBLE INCONSISTENCY in the league right now. This year in particular.

Here's one of the most horrible calls I've seen all year. Steve "I'm an asshole" Downie's attempted assassination on Sid "The Kid" Crosby. Now I'm not a Crosby fan and I know he's been hit for diving a shit ton of times this year but shit like this is BAD FOR THE GAME. When you allow stuff like this players get injured.


When I first saw this I thought oh, he's playing it off. until they show it from the front shot and you see him coming up behind a puck-less crosby and attempt to put him in a figure four wrestling move. and when that didn't work he just kneels down on his leg. What's worse is that this guy has a HISTORY of doing stupid shit like this:

[SifuToast]

The hit last night that drew a 2 min minor for charging from Wiznewski but a 7 min (2 for holding, 5 for fighting) from Kieth


Apparently this was in retaliation for a hit earlier that Seabrook did.
Apparently this:
requires this:

OK, so later in the game you get a pop fly that sopel is looking to pick off and this happens:



No calls. nothing from the refs. and the ducks passed out of that and scored. I guess hitting from behind + cross checking + hitting a guy without the puck + leaving the ice + interference = 0 calls + 1 goal.

[buzzium81]

Alex Ovechkin gets a 2-game suspension for his hit on Brian Campbell which caused skeletal fractures whereas James Wisniewski gets 8 games for his hit on Brent Seabrook. Can you say "star-player favoritism?"

[DFu4ever]

I like how in the one video with Crosby getting his knee taken out the entire thing happens right in front of the ref, is ridiculously obvious, and the ref is just all "LOL wut?"

That was really a cheap as hell play, and that Downie asshole needs to have his ass kicked.

[DougVonDoom]

Alex Ovechkin gets a 2-game suspension for his hit on Brian Campbell which caused skeletal fractures whereas James Wisniewski gets 8 games for his hit on Brent Seabrook. Can you say "star-player favoritism?"

I dunno, Wisniewski had a shit ton more intent and left his skates to deliver a high blow. I agree with his 8 game suspension. Ovech just gave a dirty shove and I'm not sure he even deserves the suspension.