The first rule of the NHL playoffs is simple: All refs suck.
However, are the referees worse than before. It seems that every game there is one person on twitter or on a hockeybuzz forum complaining about the referees.
With the increase of speed and physical play in the playoffs, the referee has a harder time giving out penalties, for each penalty is just that much bigger. So the refs either don't see the play of they decide not to call it.
The biggest examples from the recent Avs-Sharks series are when TJ Galiardi got his lip clipped from the stick of Ryan Clowe and needed 14 stitches. The refs said they thought the stick was deflected. The other example is when Jamie McGinn gave Center Matt Duchene three punches and only got a two minute minor while Scott Hannan got four in a peacekeeping role.
So the question is: are the refs getting worse or is the game just getting that much faster.
Overall, the refs have not been good in this series, in the worst way. The hardest thing of watching bad reffing is the inconsistency to it. Why is one hook worse than one? What makes this penalty different from the other. Why was the call made for that team and not this one or even for that player and not this one. That's been the real problem
If the NHL wants to be seen as a legitimate sport, it has to work on the consistency of its refs. Some referees call hooks instead of trips, some pay more attention to cross checking. That's fine- as long as it is called on both sides.
The NHL needs to hold its refs accountable if they call inconsistent games just as much as it does the players and coaches. They have to be able to set a standard for fair reffing that the referees follow.
It's one thing to give a team a bunch of powerplays when they have controlled the puck. It's quite another to give those token calls or "Make up" calls.
Make up calls have to be the worst. Should a ref miss a call then he does a make up call to that team on waht is usually a weak call. Then there's a make up call of the make up calls. It spins in a circle and brings the entertainment value of the game down.
If the NHL doesn't make its refs accountable for the games they call, this will just get worse as the years go on because right now, it's just hurting the league.
Suspensions
Colin Campbell has said he wants to punish the players for playing reckless. Good idea in principle. However, there seems to be a standard being set here.
It has been going on for much of the past year but it started to boil over after the Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Cooke skated across and elbowed Marc Savard to the head, giving him a grade 2 concussion without getting suspended.
Then, there was the questionable Rob Blake hit on the Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Mueller than ultimately ended his season to no suspension.
It has culminated with Marian Hossa's hit on Dan Hamhuis, seen below. This is no different than the hit Alex Ovechkin put on Brian Campbell to which he was suspended. It was a reckless play and a very dangerous play to which he was awarded a five minute penalty but not a misconduct. Hossa came back and scored the game winner and was reprieved of a suspension.
What kind of message does the NHL send to players when it doesn't suspend a hit like this? By its very nature, the NHL is physical game, more physical than any other professional team sport. However, it is controlled both by the players and now the league.
First, the NHL needs to repeal the instigator penalty so the players can stand up for their teammates and second, they need a black-and-white suspension policy that includes a penalty for repeat offenders.
The NHL can do a better job of these things, it has done a better job in the past and it must do a better job in the future.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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