Hijexx wrote:

flynn23 wrote:
I love how when they announced the promotion at the last game, I had several witnesses hear me say "I hope someone gets a hat trick that game cuz nothing flings like a mouse pad!" Too bad it was Legwand.

I missed with what happened with the last penalty on Chicago, what was that about?

It was a bench penalty given to coach Savard, but it was never explained what for and I didn't see what he was doing. The Trib had this:

Hawks coach Denis Savard was ejected in the final 38 seconds after receiving a game-misconduct penalty.

"I was just applauding [the referees]," Savard said. "I wasn't satisfied with how the game was run tonight. I thought the team played hard and deserved better than what we got. A couple of our guys got high-sticked that weren't called, two of them at least."

Savard also indicated Nashville should have been whistled for a couple of diving penalties from referees Mike Hasenfratz and Don Koharski.

Nashville had six power plays on the night, while the Hawks had five.

I would definitely agree that the officiating was very lax. There were a lot of non-calls, including the high-sticks that Savard mentions. Typically both ref's, particularly Koharski, seem to not be big fans of the Preds and have really really stunk up a few games with ridiculously lopsided calls. So I was surprised that they were so loose in that game and that they seemed to be calling it both ways when they did get the whistles out.

I would say that one of the things that I've noticed lately is the psychological fear factor is starting to work in the Preds favor. Back a few years ago, when Detroit had 10 Hall of Famers playing on one team, you definitely could tell that opponents were already casting a loss before the game was ever played. Most sports is all mental at this level, but few more than hockey. The intimidation factor is big. Teams in the league know that the Preds are good, and despite the new NHL, if they get a 2 or 3 goal lead on you, it's over. So at least the players are giving the team the respect that it has earned. Let's hope that continues to cascade.

RE: Trotz sees bias against Predators