That's more like it. After having tight games across the board; things appear back to normal. 7-4, 3-0, 4-1, 5-1, 5-3 were the game scores lately. Teams are getting smacked down. Playoff blowouts happen. I love a tension filled game, but a blowout or scorefest doesn't hurt either. Teams that are down, usually have to take chances, and gambling can cost you. Other times, teams open up a little, which leads to scoring. The opposing team follows suit. Then before you know it, the whole game is wide open and it's a matter of who has the puck last.
What is the playoffs without controversy? Every shot, check, save & pass is high drama, so naturally the officiating is too. I honestly think the NHL is the toughest sport to referee. More often than not the officials are invisible on the ice, while avoiding 10 players and a high velocity puck. I don't know how they do it. Can you clearly judge a 100+ mph object? But the Kings/Canucks series has had it's share of questionable calls. Vancouver got a too many men penalty in overtime, that ended-up giving the Kings the game. I didn't agree with the call. There was also a kicked-in goal called back, which I thought was too tough to call. It took at least 5 minutes to figure out. All of the video review calls go to the league War Room in Toronto, or so I've heard. They agonized over it, but called it a no-goal.
When and if Vancouver has to cry sour grapes over the calls that didn't go their way, I don't have a whole lot of argument against them. But that's why the winner is decided by a series. Calls should balance out in the end. And a bad call might mean losing a game, but shouldn't cost you a series.
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