Live or Die in Game 7
Tonight marks the continuation or the end of the Penguins and the Senators season. Game 7 will be in Pittsburgh and it looks like the Penguins are done being pushed around. As Game 6 unfolded in Ottawa on Tuesday night it was clear the officiating crew was intent on keeping the Senators in the series. This was made clear by blatant holding infractions against some of the top Penguins players which were not called.
Playoff hockey has always been a time when the rules somehow vanish from the game. This is the result of the officials not wanting to decide the game for teams and drastically influencing the outcome. However, the rule book still exists and the officials know it. It is unacceptable to watch a game and see cross checks and elbows thrown at various players heads. The NHL has comically instituted the Committee of Player Safety to take control of player behavior when it is deemed reckless. After Scott Wilson was elbowed in the head by Tommy Wingles at the end of Game 5 there was no hearing to come to determine if Wingles's hit is reckless and suspendable. How does this look like a hockey play?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWnFQT7wLSo
The Committee of Player Safety is a laughable use of resources by the NHL because they have inconsistent, at least since Brendan Shanahan left. The NHL continues to say they want the game to be safer for players and to do that head shots need to be removed from the game. However, when a head shot does occur (look at the elbow Wilson took again) the NHL ignores it. How can fans, players, coaches, and owners take this organization seriously if Gary Bettman keeps moving the goals posts on how discipline is dolled out? They can't. I have heard from a multitude of fans after Game 6 who said they are close to being done with hockey because the officiating is such a joke. Why have a rule book if you are not going to call what is written?
The Pittsburgh Penguins, not to mention other talented teams in the NHL, continuously have to deal with inferior teams who take liberty with the rules when they know officials will not call the game correctly. This was obvious in Game 6 when SIdney Crosby kept getting held behind the play or Malkin's stick was getting held and nothing was called. Ron Hainsey was called for interference by putting a body on the oncoming Ottawa forechecker, which is part of the game and has happened all season long all over the league. This action was deemed a penalty in Game 6 which gave the Senators a 5 on 3 powerplay. This is an in depth article written by Matt Gajtka for DKPittsburghsports.com which highlights that penalty. The NHL wants their players to be the best in the world but the worst officiating ever might drive the best players away.
I am sure everyone is familiar with the term "home field advantage." In hockey there is "home ice advantage" which has to do with the noise level of the crowd, the quality of ice, how the boards play, and sometimes even how the officials call the game. The Senators definitely gained the officiating advantage in Game 6 because every call went against the Penguins. The NHL never wants a series or a game to become lopsided so once the Penguins won 7-0 in Game 5 the whistles were tucked away for the next game. The rational thought is the Penguins will have the advantage tonight and the crowd will definitely back them up all the way. However, the officiating is a different story. Officiating never goes the Penguins way at home which typically washes out the home ice advantage. This is done for no other reason than to keep the inferior team competitive. If the NHL wants to become more popular in main stream sports they need to allow their star players to perform at their highest level rather than abuse them with a trap system and dirty play.
Game 7 is not only a determining factor of whose season will continue but it will also determine how other teams in the league will proceed to develop their game strategy. The Sharks played rule bending hockey in last year's Stanley Cup FInal but the Penguins played their fast paced game and beat them. The Senators are playing not just rule bending but rule breaking hockey. The Penguins have been a force to be reckoned with when they are angry and provoked. Just take a look at Kessel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfCqclHOZcQ
Tonight at 8:00pm Game 7 will kick off at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
