I know, I know. I'm going to break my own vow to not bash officials this year, but enough is enough. There are only so many cheap shots and horrific calls an organization can take before they lash out. Florida is at the plate.
As we all know, NHL officials are booed every time they come on the ice at the beginning of games and periods, and even more so during the games. It is a hard job. There is a lot going on at very fast speeds. Things get missed. Calls are often wrong. But what has been going on with the Panthers is officially alarming.
What has to be considered a collective lack of respect for a Florida team that is wallowing in the cellar of the NHL standings, some of the most obvious calls have been missed, which could have turned losses into wins or prevented injury.
First there was Alex Ovechkin's obvious boarding penalty that knocked out Kris Versteeg for almost a month:
Then there was the abomination of no call or disciplinary action on Rick Nash hitting Tomas Kopecky:
The next night, in true ironic fashion, Colby Robak gets a five minute major and game misconduct for this nudge of Tim Sestito where he lost balance because he wasn't stronger on his skates:
Last week Erik Gudbranson was also given a five minute major and game misconduct for a "hit" against Martin Erat where it looks like Erat's injuries had more to do with how he landed and not the check itself. And anyone that knows Gudbranson's game knows he could have destroyed Erat if he wished but certainly held up:
If this weren't enough, which it is, multiple Panther players have been cut with high sticks, yet no call came with the obvious infractions. During Florida's game against Ottawa the other night, TJ Brennan was CLEARLY tripped by Erik Kondra early in a power play which would have created a long 5 on 3 advantage late in a one goal game. Surprise, surprise. No call was made.
The list keeps piling up yet the Panthers just don't seem to get any breaks to go their way.
"We worked so hard to get some respectability last year,'' head coach Kevin Dineen said. "These guys are human; they look at the standings before the game and go 'this thing should play out a certain way.' We get no respect and it's our fault. Our situation is what it is.''
Fans of other teams will pull out the predictable, "oh just stop whining. It happens to all of us." Not sure about that. I can't remember a season like this with so many officiating blunders. NHL officials are widely known as some of the worst if not the worst in all of sports. Most of us would agree with that.
With all the Panthers injuries this year it is unlikely the playoffs were an option. But with "no respect" from the NHL or it's referees, as GM Dale Tallon insinuated, that mountain is certainly larger.
At least three games have turned against the Panthers because of bad calls, and since they are ten points out of first in their division, they would still be in the hunt if things turned out the way they should have. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shoulda woulda coulda. But this is a legitimate topic and concern. Not only for the Panthers, but for everyone in the league. Something needs to be done about this issue, starting at the top (looking at you, Shanahan).
Dan Spiegel...
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