Colin Campbell statement just after realizing that the league may have to suspend Penguin superstar Evgeni Malkin: "None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation. Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded."
Based on what i saw in the last 2 games, it won't matter if Malkin's suspended or not. The wings seem to be dominating. They always seemed to come out from the corners with the puck and the goals have been incredible. Filppula's backhanded, bouncing puck, off balance shot from such a bad angle was nuts.
it's such crap, that second goal hossa hooked and broke the stick, yet no call, there were a ton of hits and holds (which are supposed to be called) but nothing, pretty frustrating after watching good clean hockey and the crap getting called then the finals come and the refs hold their whistles - the league tilting the rules based on the star just doesn't hold water
I really was not shocked that it was rescinded (and not upset because we won the game with no harm done)...but it speaks to the confusion/reputation of Colin Campbell and his NHL rule book. They should just remove the "automatic" suspension wording if special exceptions are made. The Walker sucker punch on Ward was far worse and did not receive the "automatic" suspension.
I don't know what game you were watching, but the Pens get away with a lot also. There were multiple times Crosby was slashing guys across the hands 3-4 times and there were no calls. And watch that play again, that idiot broke his own stick slashing Hossa's. How the hell do you slash someone when your stick is under theirs. So far the ref'ing in this series has at least been somewhat even because the prior Pen's series it heavily favored the Pens. And Malkin should be suspended. He went straight after Zetterburg. It just goes to show you how bias the league is towards the Pens. If a Wings player did that, the suspension wouldn't have been lifted. If I were the Wings, I would drop Malkin next game. I'm suprised he didn't try and punch him in the back of the head like he did the to the guy in the previous series.
I agree, just frustrating when you are on the loosing end that's the main thing i'm looking for from ref's/league is consistency - I can see maybe in the waning minutes of a game or OT the refs don't want to 'decide' the game, but the whole playoffs have been inconsistent, especially when you look at the regular season
i'm just glad i was in class and couldn't watch Thursday's game. The score probably says it all. Pens have a lot of momentum now, but I hope the wings can shake it off.
I prefer it when the team that wins the cup, wins it @ home. Oh well, it's not over yet but the fat lady is warming up! Wings are just too deep. Game 4 is the hardest to win, I highly doubt that the Pens are going to roll over at home. I see this going seven games....But WTF do I know?
