Disgusting

George Malik speaks for me: ("Game 2 is why Red Wings fans wear tinfoil hats")

The Detroit Red Wings have struggled to match the San Jose Sharks' faceoff prowess, have penalty-killing problems, and obviously find themselves facing a season-breaking must-win situation going back to Detroit on Tuesday thanks to a 4-3 loss to San Jose via a horrific break...

But let's be honest here.  The refs screwed, blued, and tattooed the Wings here.  Any time a Shark chooses to let his feet go out from under him, impales himself into the goalpost, or so much as sneezes, the Sharks get a power play, and at the other end of the ice, when the Red Wings rip a shot on the net and the Sharks do what they've very literally told the press--grab and hold onto Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, and Todd Bertuzzi to prevent them from getting to loose pucks, clearly committing obstruction fouls--they get away with what the NHL deems is "battling."

Yes, the Red Wings have been out-played, but it's pretty hard to win Game 2 when you're playing against 18 players, a goaltender, and two referees.  This game was disgusting and pathetic and if there ever was proof positive of an anti-Red Wing bias, this is it.

The NHL should be ashamed of itself and Brad Watson and Kevin Pollock are nothing less than incompetent.

You can go back and search my four previous years' posts on the playoffs and I seriously doubt you'll find one single post where I bitch and complain about officiating.  I have protested individual calls in the past but I've never, ever claimed the Wings lost a game due to bad officiating.  Until now.  Tonight's game wasn't so much lost by the Wings as it was "won" by the Sharks due to an incredible number of bad calls by the referees.   Hell, even the Versus play-by-play guys were questioning the Red Wings penalties and I think they have a preference for the Sharks.  It was THAT bad.

It's one thing to watch your team lose if they're outplayed, it's quite another to watch them lose to incompetent officiating.