Could Vegas be the beneficiary of favorable officiating?

[gunnergunther]

saw the first three plays in the video, lol. 1st wasnt a trip, Ward caught a rut, and Couture was at knee level on the "high stick".. I guess when youre a sharks fan you expect to get every ticky tack to go your way.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Q: Could Vegas be the beneficiary of favorable officiating?
A: The fix is in !

 

[SniperHF]

11th in PP time ,14th in PK time, and 11th in differential. Meh.

Gonna need to show the work a bit (well a lot) more to make a case here.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

saw the first three plays in the video, lol. 1st wasnt a trip, Ward caught a rut, and Couture was at knee level on the "high stick".. I guess when youre a sharks fan you expect to get every ticky tack to go your way.

The first one I can see an argument against but I saw Tierney get called for a phantom trip in this game. Ward catching a rut is not justification for letting a major boarding call go. Couture being at knee level also doesn't mean a stick to the face is not to be called.

 

[LeafsNation75]

If realize things like this even out in the end, however if Vegas was given the benefit of anything I say it was having a 7 game home stand in October after playing their first two games ever on the road. Maybe that was a huge reason why they got off to such a great start?

 

[CanadianPensFan1]

Sweet. ANOTHER thread complaining about officiating.

How hip and inventive.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

The first one I can see an argument against but I saw Tierney get called for a phantom trip in this game. Ward catching a rut is not justification for letting a major boarding call go. Couture being at knee level also doesn't mean a stick to the face is not to be called.

Those things/games generally happen to every team throughout the season.

High sticking is weird I see a lot of missed high sticks, not sure if the refs think players are over selling them sometimes or just blind.

 

[TarasenkosForearm]

Yes. Blues played in Vegas and dominated with a nice no call trip on Schenn in ot...on a breakaway..

 

[ChanceVegas]

Well I think I found the context for this topic here:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/hfboards-gdt-2-8-18.2446117/page-6

There's a couple Sharks fans who went on a really strange trip there. Are you guys tired of your LA rivalry or something? I mean we just got here lol.

The truth is out there guys.... good luck!

 

[TMLeafs17]

Yup that was a brutally reffed game, saw it all, couldn’t believe it. Unfortunately it happens all over the league, the refs need to go to more classes to become consistent in their calls.

 

[BernieParent]

I thought the Pens got all the calls??

Just wait for my post! Sheesh!!

There are two reasons for penalty calls: player safety and preserving the fair competition of a game. When the latter type of call is missed, like a blown offside, it is frustrating against one's own team. But when the refs are ignoring dangerous and dirty plays, there's a problem.

The Neal stick in the video is definitely a matter of safety. To me, the degree of impedance of the goaltender's ability to make a stop is trumped by Neal's reckless and dangerous use of his stick. This is what the NHL has to get right with its officials.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Those things/games generally happen to every team throughout the season.

High sticking is weird I see a lot of missed high sticks, not sure if the refs think players are over selling them sometimes or just blind.

Certainly. I'm only really upset about the Ward penalty being missed due to the injury suffered. Missed high sticks certainly happens a lot and it happened a lot in this game but that board just can't be missed when he was on the puck.

 

[jbobell98]

I agree bad officiating but the high sticks are hard to call and one of them was on a follow through which isn't a penalty. I think its more the refs being bad than favouring Vegas.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Sun belt team? Hmmmm

 

[Luigi Habs]

Refs are also getting drunk in Vegas?

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Could be, Bettman welcomed them into the NHL with open arms and a hug so warm they would've mistaken Satan for a teddy bear.

Would be interesting to compare when Seattle joins the NHL.

 

[tntkid]

When the Knights last played the Jets they got many favorable calls and it was quite obvious too.

James Neal even broke his stick on our golaie's head and the goal was counted with no goalie interference.
smh

 

[HanSolo]

Spoiler: NHL refereeing is garbage as a whole.

This is all that needs to be said. The entire system needs an overhaul.

All I heard last year was how the refs were playing favorites to the Ducks yet this year they lead the league in penalties. How do we reconcile this supposed failure in such a conspiracy?

Maybe it's just as MPF said, reffing just sucks.

 

[HanSolo]

Refs are also getting drunk in Vegas?

The game in question was in San Jose...

 

[Juicy Pop]

I'm not one to indulge in conspiracy theories, but that was a brutal game against Philly.

Couturier's bloody chin in the post-game is all that really needs to be seen.

 

[HanSolo]

I'm not one to indulge in conspiracy theories, but that was a brutal game against Philly.

Couturier's bloody chin in the post-game is all that really needs to be seen.

The whistles were away for the entire game...there was exactly one penalty call the whole game and sure Vegas got it but if the fix was in wouldn't Vegas had gotten more than one powerplay? Especially when the score was 3-1? Maybe that should be part of your "all that really needs to be seen" analysis.

Oh and that penalty was called before either team had scored.

 

[Juicy Pop]

The whistles were away for the entire game...there was exactly one penalty call the whole game and sure Vegas got it but if the fix was in wouldn't Vegas had gotten more than one powerplay? Especially when the score was 3-1? Maybe that should be part of your "all that really needs to be seen" analysis.

Oh and that penalty was called before either team had scored.

I'm just alluding to the style of hockey I saw.

It's just a bit bewildering to see a sole penalty in a game where the teams were locked in a clutch and grab-fest once Philly buttoned up on the cross-ice passing. It actually benefited the Flyers so I'm not really complaining, I just find it curious.

 

[Claypool]

I thought it was the Red Wings that got away with cheating and subtle interference?

 

[HanSolo]

I'm just alluding to the style of hockey I saw.

It's just a bit bewildering to see a single penalty in a game where the teams were locked in clutch and grab-fest once Philly buttoned up on the cross-ice passing.

Vegas has been chippier lately, maybe due to a little fatigue, but that doesn't lend to some style of play that Vegas usually employs. Outside of Carrier, McNabb, and SOMETIMES Neal and Engelland (yes I know Neal slashed Hellebyuck, but that's not indicative of his body of work throughout the year) the team really doesn't play overly physical hockey.

Yes it's strange that only one penalty got called but this thread was born out of outrage in a San Jose game where Sharks fans felt the game was called unfairly (for the most part it was) and alluded to the idea that Vegas have been beneficiaries of ref favoritism all year long (one even going so far as to say that the ONLY reason Vegas is atop the West is because of the refs). This game is not compelling evidence to that notion. If the theory were true, and there was some grand conspiracy to help Vegas through officiating, we would've seen Vegas get 2-3 penalties after Philadelphia took the lead at least.

 

[Anglesmith]

This is also really really bad. Before coming to a conclusion, just ask yourself this. When was the last time you saw a player slash a goaltender in the head, breaking his stick, and not be penalized for it? When have you seen a player slash a goaltender in the head, breaking his stick, and not even suffer from his own teammate's subsequent goal being called back?

This is a highly flawed argument given goalies getting slashed in the head isn't a common occurrence. Players chop at the pads often; very rarely does a defenceman redirect that chop into the chest. Do you recall the last such incident?

Also, they weren't able to disallow a goal in the review just because they regretted not calling a slash. The review was correct according to the rules. Nothing fishy there.