I will refrain from yelling, screaming and complaining. We now have a game in less than 20 hours against the Penguins at home. We have to suck it up and move on. All I can say is “Arrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!”
I will refrain from yelling, screaming and complaining. We now have a game in less than 20 hours against the Penguins at home. We have to suck it up and move on. All I can say is "Arrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!" I thought the officiating at the end of the game was questionable. I cannot ever remember seeing a 6 minute penalty and then two additional 2 minute penalties called in the last 6 minutes of the game called before. Boston scored twice on 5 on 3 power plays to end the game and win 2 to 1 in a game where I thought we were pretty much dominating. We lost this game with an assist to the on ice officials.
Mr. Leonsis,
I found this article on suspensions handed out by the NHL. I have to give credit to http://hockeyfights.com/ where I found the link. The article is at: http://www.newsobserver.com/796/story/999555.html. The article takes a look at the pattern of suspensions and concludes there has been a clear pattern when Canadian teams have been given a bit of a break when it comes to suspensions!! Recently there have been a couple of suspensions given out by the NHL. What do you think??
There have been a lot of great games because of how tight the conference is.
GO CAPS!!!
Wait just a minute are you saying there could be some corruption in Boston??? Not in a city like Boston, which is openly known for corruption since it became a city. i was a little more than upset but we always seam to take some questionable calls??? Brash did his job and the 4min was good but the other 2 were BS (what do you expect to recieve if you skate up on a guy like that???? Great punch!!!
So NHL officials never, ever make mistakes? And referees never have favorites? What type of world do you live in? This is no conspiracy, it is reality, unless you live in Wonderland, there is no denying that the referees were not fair and balanced. Yes, our team made mistakes, but laying the blame square on them while overlooking the role of the officiating, is plain dumb. We won’t get any respect unless we do something about it. And referees need to pay the price of their biases and incompetence. We’ve had a referee tackle one of our defensemen, which lead to a game-winning goal; we’ve had referees who award 5 power plays to our adversary while awarding us only 1, 18 seconds before the end of the game, and so forth. Even if we played without ever making contact with our opponents, the referees will make up an offense. Wake up, and stop defending the referees!
I think one should look at the 2nd half of the 2nd period if you really want to see why the CAPS lost.
Give ‘em hell, Ted.
No whining! Brash got what he deserved. It was a high stick that cut the opponent, and frankly, he was fortunate the punch he landed after the whistle only cost him a two-minute roughing call. It could have been a lot more. Granted the call on Erskine was borderline, but that’s life. This notion that referees and other on-ice officials have some agenda and are out to get certain teams is nothin more than sour grapes. Granted some officials are more talented, observant, or discerning than others, but the idea that there is some hidden conspiracy among the NHL on-ice officials is inappropriate and borderline unsportsmanlike. The key is to play a more disciplined game and not earn penalties at critical moments in close games.
The only way Boston could score on us today was if they were given a lengthy 5-on-3 opportunity. They couldn’t score on us 5 on 5. They couldn’t score on us with lengthy 5 on 4′s. Terribly depressing it had to end like that. I hope there is some repercussion.
It’s hard to leave Bash alone. The refs calls were unbalanced but his undisciplined and unneeded action cost the game. Even if he didn’t draw the extreme penalties he gave Boston players and fans something to rally around when both were lifeless. These are the days when I strongly question why he was ever signed. I’m hoping he has some value in the locker room because I see little on the ice.
It’s reassuring to know that you share our frustration. Is it my imagination, or are the Caps disproportionately screwed over by the officials?!? You/George/Bruce have assembled and such an exciting, dynamic team.
I have been a Caps fan since 1974. I have sat through the Koharski calls and lopsided games solely because of the officiating. One of the things I have never agreed with is the fact that you are not allowed to say anything bad about the officials. There are times (like today) that something needs to be said loud and clear and Bruce should have blasted them, paid the fine and move on. It would send the message to the fans and the players that everyone is fed up with poor calls and “blind mice” on the ice.
I’m honestly surprised that you have publicly come out and criticized the officials. God bless you, even if the league fines you.
The real scandal to me is that the NHL lets a Bostonian, who admits to being a Bruins fan all his life and has a history of questionable calls in favor of his favorite team (head over to http://japersrink.blogspot.com/ for details) ref this game. That to me is unacceptable und has to change. You simply cannot be allowed to ref your hometown team.
I remember a 6-minute penalty once before. Simon got it against the Flyers. He was given four minutes, and when he got to the box, he lashed out and was given an extra two minutes. I don’t recall what it was, but a thud was heard throughout the arena.
The best part was that the Caps killed it all off. As the PK reached the five-minute mark, the crowd were really getting into it.
I found the boxscore (sorry, that it’s on a Flyers fansite)
http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?20000760
Without Brashear, you do not have a healthy Ovechkin. Remember that. Coach Boudreau does.
You are a better man than I (on the yelling, screaming and complaining part).
As for the B’s, C’mon back to DC on the 16th and we’ll see what happens.
Leave Brash alone, he made a mistake that can be explained in part by a guy coming at him with a high stick to the face.
The job of this ORGANIZATION is to let the NHL, i.e. Bettman, know that its officials made more than one mistake. The biggest mistake was to leave everyone in this area with the impression that the game was given away by refs.
Ted, I love what you have done with this team. I love these guys, and I hate to be negative. But seriously, Brashear has GOT to go. GOT. TO. GO.
I hope you do something about the “questionable” officiating. There is a perception that the League treats the Caps as patsies. Witness the draft after the lockout, for example
How charitable of you, “an assist”? I’ve always suspected, and today’s game is further proof, that the NHL protects the Original Six teams when they are on the bubble and not playing well, as in 10-2 and 8-2 losses in one week. The officials are the NHL’s weakest link, one that must be fixed or games like this will continue to undermine the league’s credibility.
The move by Brasher was what was questionable. Not surprised you didn’t consider that though.
Ted, I have a rare picture of Refs Chris Rooney and Rob Martell. Check it out.
http://dconetimer.blogspot.com/
It wouldn’t be completely fair to say that the officials alone cost us the game, even though they handed it to the Bruins on a silver platter. We made a stupid, undisciplined, and inexcusable mistake late in the game and it cost us. Thats what launched us off the cliff to destruction, but the poor officiating didn’t help either. It bothers me though, that they didn’t call the penalty on Chara for playing with a broken stick. Erskine’s trip was a little weak, one that shouldn’t be called when a 6min penalty was just assessed. The only penalty that might have been the right call was Poti’s slash. They called us on every minor little thing and let the Bruins off the hook for a few very obvious infractions. The officials called the game lopsidedly at the end, it is their job to ensure that both teams have equal opportunity to win. With that said, we should have put the game away earlier. Lets just hope luck is on our side tomorrow…GO CAPS!
AMEN. In all my year’s of hockey viewing, I have never seen calls like I saw today.
I truly hope the Caps take out their frustration against the Pens tomorrow!! Playoffs are still on the radar!
This is where I know my team’s owner is great. Stick to your guns, Ted. You’re 100% right, the officiating was awful in the last 6 minutes. Glad you’re sticking up for your team!