I believe this has to be the worst playoffs ever. I wholeheartedly agree that the Habs were outclassed by the Caps, but it is getting so damn obvious that the NHL want a Crosby/Ovechkin confrontation. It just screams out. I watched some of the Ottawa game and I just shut it off after a while. It just turned me completely off. And to be honest, even if it was the other way, with the Sens and Habs being advantaged, I would still feel the same way.

And everybody is talking about it. Even out of Ottawa and Montreal. A friend of mine in NY, who is a newbie-fan of hockey, even noticed the missed calls.

Agree with you completely, Sparky.  It is pretty disgraceful.

Quoted from Hippochrome

watch and see, my awesomeness at filtering through Bettmans B.S. league!

Yeah that's right...I just quoted myself

Although I hate to think about conspiracy theory's... think back to leafs and kings....and the infamous high stick noncall... sigh

i havent got a chance to watch any playoff games yet... been to busy... and the highlights fail to show the "whole story"

i still will refuse to think the nhl is rigged until the leafs win the cup

Quoted from BIGWIG416

...i still will refuse to think the nhl is rigged until the leafs win the cup

The Leafs don't have to win the cup, or even make the playoffs. Toronto is the only city in which fans will still fill up an arena completely even though the team is complete shyte.

Actually... strike that... Boston and Montreal are almost the same. Harry Sinden (long-time Boston GM) had the perfect business plan. Give the fans 3-4 years of complete garbage on the ice, and then when you see the fans have had enough and are about to leave, invest a bit of money and give them a team that will win a couple of playoff rounds. Then the fans are happy again so you have the green light to penny-pinch for another 3-4 years.

Mind you, the Habs are like that since the Nordiques left... and since there is no other hot-rivalry team to make them look bad, they don't try too hard.

But come on Toronto fans... 43 years of almost being laughed at... after this last stretch, I would have burned all memorabilia I would own.  

Not being able to touch a star player isn't new, ever hear of a lad named Gretzky?

There will always be 'missed calls' in a game, the game would come to a stop if everything was called.  And if you think the refereeing was the fall of the Sens, then how do you explain the SHG?  At some point you need to look at the players on the ice, in particular an average at best goaltender.

In no way am I blaming the fall of the Sens in the playoffs on the officials. That would be pretty short sighted. What I have noticed in all games and not just the Sens series, is a general lack of consistency. Sure they can't see everything but in several cases the penalty happened right in from of them and they sill managed to miss it.  At the end of the day all I want is consistency regardless of who walks away with Lord Stanley.  

lol ... damn leafs... they have brainwashed me or something cause I will always cheer them on... dont get me wrong I like a few other teams... but i'll never get off the toronto wagon

Quoted from QN

There will always be 'missed calls' in a game, the game would come to a stop if everything was called.  And if you think the refereeing was the fall of the Sens, then how do you explain the SHG?  At some point you need to look at the players on the ice, in particular an average at best goaltender.

Shots were Pens 42, Sens 30

So by NHL stats (1 goal for every 10 shots) the game should have been about 4-3. Yeah Sens would have lost anyways based on that.....but come on.

The calls/lack of calls were brutal....How can the Sens get anymore shots when they are in the box the whole game? Plus, (more stats for you) A goal is scored every 20min in a 5 on 5 game. However, that stat changes to a goal every 5min when a team is a man down.....big difference!

You can't get consistency at that level when dealing with individual perception, especially with the speed of the game.  My kids play hockey, at even at that turtle pace half of the crowd will call a penalty or offside while the rest think it's ok.  Now increase the speed about 100 times and make them guess again.

I was watching part of the game last night, when Crosby went in on a partial break, didn't get a shot off and complained that he was slashed in the hand.  I actually thought he was faking it to draw a penalty, but rewinding and in slo-mo, sure enough he was slashed.  No call.

There are other events, the Lidstrom non-call for example, that was just a blown call, I'm sure the refs/linesmen would agree after the fact.  It happens.

I'd like to see that Lidstrom non-clal - anyone have a link?

As much as the coach/players can complain (without getting fined) is this article:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Playoffs/Ottawa/2010/04/20/13659891.html

Stats?  Ok.

Reg season, avg shots on goal:
Pitt: 32.8 (4th overall)
Ott: 29.7 (18th overall)

5-5 Goals for/against:
Pitt: 1.07 (9th overall)
Ott: 0.88 (26th overall)

Before the game got out of hand, the penalties were 7 for Pit, 8 for Ott.  So Pit has an extra 2 mins man advantage, by your stats that's an extra 0.4 of a goal.  How do you account for the other 2.6 goals?