The Red Wings were involved in an exciting game last night, where they dominated most of the play, but due to too many penalties, were deep in the 3rd period in a 1-1 tie. Kyle Quincey had scored an odd goal and Detroit had been defending their lead well, until a 2nd 5 on 3 opportunity for the Kings was converted and evened it up.
Then, the refs stepped in...or perhaps the more accurate term would be that they stepped out.
Late in the final period, a hit put on Danny Cleary from behind caused a cut around Cleary's orbital bone, which would end up requiring 15 stitches. No call was made. As if that weren't bad enough, all-around dirtbag Dustin Penner was somehow able to take advantage of all four officials on the ice not looking anywhere around him and took it upon himself to clobber Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith about the head. Miles away from the puck. From behind. Smith would go down in a heap and play would continue for a few seconds before the whistle was blown and a Detroit trainer could get out to assist Smith. Again, no call was made. The Penner no-call ended up being disastrous for Detroit, as during the next sequence, Anze Kopitar would get open in front of Wings goalie Jimmy Howard and deposit what would be the game winning goal.
While it is true that the poor offensive showing by Detroit is partly to blame for this loss, not every game is going to be a barn-burner. There are going to be 1-0 and 2-1 games that Detroit needs to win, and by all accounts, they should have won this one, or at the very least, seen a point for OT or a shootout. They controlled play, won the battles for puck possession, and minimized chances against them. That should have been enough to get them through regulation with at least a tie. Thanks to the officials eating their whistles and going to sleep, however, we now sit outside the playoff window once again.
At least the Kings didn't try that clock trick again.
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