Talking Points

SCviaDC — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:23:27 -0000

Just some things to consider in case you have to deal with any continual whining about how the Wings would’ve won the Cup if outside forces didn’t hand it to the Penguins.

Officiating in Game 7

If you are going to complain about the officiating in one particular game, you should stop wasting your breath. Calls and non-calls vary from game to game, and bad calls happen. All the time. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is not going to be any different. We would like to think so, but in reality, human refs are still human.

You won’t be able to convince anyone on either side whether or not a particular call or non-call was good or bad; that judgment is typically set in stone when the play is seen. But if you want to complain about the officiating in a winner take all game, I will say this to you: Maybe you should have won Game 3 or Game 4 or Game 6 so you wouldn’t have to be in a position where the high amount of variance in officiating quality will determine the series winner.

Officiating in the Series/Playoffs

I’m pretty sure the referees are all provided from the same place. We didn’t provide Big East refs for our home games while you got to provide Big Ten refs for yours. You managed to overcome the officiating that’s slanted against you to win Games 1 and 2 and to a resounding win in Game 5, so why couldn’t you do that in Game 7? Just Game 7 was fixed? Please see the above section.

Conspiracy

The Commissioner really loves Sidney Crosby, so he managed the playoffs to maximize revenue and ratings and give his wonder boy a championship, right?

If the Commish really wanted Crosby to win the Cup, wouldn’t it have been easier to have some other team from the West in the final? I mean, even if you control the refs, there still is that element of chance in the game. And let’s face it, the Red Wings are extremely talented and have the ability to overcome such odds. So, why even give them the opportunity, when other teams without the championship pedigree (Sharks/Blackhawks) are out there for the Pens to compete against? If I was trying to ensure a victory for The Kid, I wouldn’t have it go through the toughest opponent.

It’s a better story for the Penguins to come back and beat Detroit?

If it’s a story about Crosby, I’d have written it so he could have won back to back, just like Mario. If it’s a story about redemption, I’d have gone for a soul crushing sweep instead of a seven-gamer.

It’s not about Crosby, but the fact that Bettman hates you?

If he really hated you, you would have lost to the Blue Jackets in 7. Now there’s a story: Team Making 1st Playoff Appearance in Its History Dethrones Defending Champions. Or, you would have lost to the archrival Blackhawks, who I’m sure are higher on the hate list than the Penguins.

Look, the only conspiracy I can accept is that Bettman hates Marian Hossa. That means we were given the Cup this year, but it also means the Wings were given the puck last year.

Injuries

Injuries are a part of every sport, and you just have to overcome them; those are the breaks. Great teams become crippled by injuries all the time. And unless I hear some reports about NHL officials beating your guys with crowbars, you can’t fall back on being hurt. Even if it is the best launching pad for shoulda-woulda-couldas.

The Real Problem

Apparently, I missed certain parts of the game. Like the part where the 24 saves Fleury made were actually made by a retractable glass sheet that gets deployed from beneath the ice to cover the goal mouth when the Red Wings shoot. Or the part where the Wings scored 25 goals, but 24 were overturned upon video review. Or the part where the referees dove in front of the Wings shooters, blocking 20 of their shots. Or the part where the Penguins were awarded more Power Plays.

You want to blame someone? Tell your team to make those 24 saved shots better ones so that they go in the net. Or, you can tell Osgood to position himself better on those Talbot goals. Or, you can tell your defensemen to not make those decisions that led to those turnovers, so Osgood doesn’t have to make the saves at all.

Bottom line, blame your team for not playing well enough to defeat an unproven big-game goalie and win the Cup.

Obviously, this is a Penguins blog, so it not going to reach the ears that need. But to you, my dear friends and Penguins fans, I say let these talking points motivate you to help put an end to the raving lunacy that follows from the despair of being so close and coming up short. Or the thoughts that the dynasty may be ending.

In other words, talk some sense into them using the highest road possible.

SB Nation User Blog: SCviaDC

Talking Points