[Lefty Noob]

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 win over the Flyers yesterday.
This just two years after having the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Hard-fought game, lots of physical play. Crosby and Malkin were unbelievable, combining for five points on the night.
Crosby scores twice, and Penguins clinch Atlantic with 4-2 win over Flyers - NHL - Yahoo! Sports

[blueandwhite]

They did it. hard fought, hard won.
Hope Phils is okay, Phiolly stills sits at 8th place with 91 point.
Crosby Gonchar and malkin all figure in the win.
29 shots on each goalie.

[Lefty Noob]

Phils should be very pleased with the effort his team put forth last night. They fought hard, played some very physical hockey. I'm sure effort doesn't make up for not getting the 'W' but they played very well. I'm glad the Pens were able to wrap up the division, finally... I was starting to wonder if they weren't gonna blow it.

[Phils20]

Well, with calls going the way they did in thier favor last night, they oughta win the Cup. Great game, too bad that the usual poor officiating decided the game.

WOW. Since when is it okay to split a players face open with the butt end of a stick, with blood flowing out, and not end up with a penalty. Hell, I've seen a follow through on a slap shot result in a double minor, but yet that goes unpunished last night. I can put up with a lot, and have been one of the people who just says "deal with it", but last night just gave me my ref meltdown. And not because they lost, but because of how it happened.

Total BS.

[Lefty Noob]

Ah well, I guess different people will see things differently.

I though both teams played very well, and didn't really see the refs as much of a factor. I enjoyed the physicality of the game, and some of the moves Malkin made were just unreal. On the one penalty kill in the second, dancing around with the puck... some of the best stick handling I've EVER seen.

[blueandwhite]

Lefty, did you think there should have been a penalty on the stick in the face?

[Phils20]

Come on Lefty, you know that any hit with a stick, whether on purpose on not, that draws blood, is a double minor, that is the rule. That call is not seeing it a differently, that was a blown call.

And Gonchar and Crosby ganging up on Hartnell is not a judgment call either, it was another BS call. Crosby should have gotten a call, and Gonchar as well.

With the penalty already made on the pull down of Malkin, which was fair, Malking was mugged, that bad call made it a 5 on 3, and that tied the game at two. What should have been at least a 4 on 4 turned into a 5 on 3.

That turned the whole game around. The Pens only scored on the PP, so the calls where critical last night, and that one sequence was vital.

Blue and White can attest that I don't whine about calls, but last night that just really teed me off, and there is no way that should have gone down as it did.

When folks ask me why the NHL isn't as popular as other major sports, I point to calls like that, that just make ZERO since. It makes this sport look minor league.

I'm done with this, I don't want to come off as a sore loser. The game in general was called OK, but the Hartnell stick to the face, and then that sequence above, were brutal. And with the Flyers having the #2 PP in the leauge, that double minor that without question should have been called MIGHT have turned the game in the Flyers favor.

But due to shoddy officiating, that didn't happen.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

Lefty, did you think there should have been a penalty on the stick in the face?

No. First of all, I'd need to see a replay, but to me at the time it looked like Hartnell hit more hand than stick. I couldn't swear by it. What happened was, Hartnell was coming in for a hit, and Gonchar was bracing for the hit, and Hartnell ran into his fist. It was reminicent of a stiff arm in football. I'm sure Phils will disagree with me, but that's how I saw it. Anyway, to borrow a quote from Mike Greenberg, "it is what it is". There are no calls and bad calls in sports all the time. I'm sure the Pens have gotten their fair share of them too. But at the end of the day, Pittsburgh's still the Atlantic Division champs.

[blueandwhite]

Yeah - when I get p***ed off about bad calls, i try to remember the ones we got away with.

[Finding_Neo]

I didn't get to see this one, but I'm glad they won! Bad calls happen, and the Pens being home surely helped their situation. Say what you want, but being home helps when it comes to calls. Close ones that could go either way are just more likely to go the way of the home team. Let's just see how the Flyers do on home ice.

[blueandwhite]

that's a good point - I agree with that.
now maybe it's tipped in Philly's favour.