Quoting: Steven_Stamkos
For some reason officiating has become the most talked about thing this playoffs. Forget Florda's underdog run. Forget the cup finals teams last year out in the first round. Outstanding individual performances. Whatever anyone wants to label as the headline or headlines for this years playoffs, they're wrong. Across the board it's been officiating. Do I agree with the majority? No. This is my first year on CF for the playoffs, but this site has been polluted with complaints and arguements about the refs since the second week of April. It feels as if literally every game there is a problem with the refs lol.
But my response to your comment:
See, that's also an issue in my opinion. Because teams are already taking advantage of game management by the refs. I don't think calling anything and everything will solve it because then you end up playing half or more than half of the game without 5v5. And then it just turns into who can score the most goals. A teams gameplan won't be centered around their style of play, it will be about how we can score more on the powerplay than our opponent, and how we can kill more penalties than they do. The problem with calling everything is that the game will turn soft. Players take less chances because they know they'll get called for it, and the whole game becomes less ferocious and physical. The penalty I hate more than anything on earth that has become quiet regularly called over the last idk 5 years, has been slashing. Slashing a players stick while he has the puck. There is a difference between slashing a players hands/slashing and breaking a players stick, and smacking a puck carriers stick with your stick to effectively knock the puck out of his possession. That's called good defense in my opinion. Things are tightening up now that we are into high pressure time nearing the finals. But in the regular season there were countless soft calls that just ruin the game in my opinion.
If the NHL want's to make stuff soft and easy, to the point where the whole game becomes solely about skill, so be it. But I would hate to see that happen. The grimey, physical, game within the game type stuff that we see in the playoffs is what makes the game great. Not players just flying around the ice dangling with protection from basically any contact whether by stick or body.
The playoffs is the wrong time to implement a stricter level of adherence, but it would be a multi-season undertaking regardless. Players aren't going to adapt quickly and will continue to push the limits, until the league shows they will not relax the standard as they have so often before.
Consistency is the goal and that can only be accomplished with diligence.
The biggest gripe in officiating (and game management), is the lack of consistency. X is not a penalty in Y situation, like letting a crosscheck slide because that team is already down 3-0.
As for what gets called, you can't take a crosschecking or slashing penalty if your stick is at ice level, so all players have to do is keep their blades down. That's not a difficult thing to manage, there's just no incentive for them to make the adjustment.
(Tangent, but IMO the double minor for high sticking is perhaps the silliest penalty. You can prevent it by wearing a full shield. If you choose less protection, you assume the risk.)
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