(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs (8) L.A. Kings Western Conf. Finals series thread

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To be fair, there were a couple of highlights from the Phoenix series:

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[Granddaddy South]

Yandle wasn't much better blaming the loss on the fact the Yotes have no owner and the fact the refs were on the Kings side last night.

 

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Bobby Mac's take on the Brown hit on Roszival...

Based on recent National Hockey League history, I don't believe league will view the hit as a knee-on-knee hit as much as a body check with incidental leg-on-leg contact. While Brown went into hit Rozsival with wide stance, his track never deviated from straight line and upper body contact was made, so it was not a classic knee. Because of that fact, I'd be shocked if he was suspended for the play.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

To be fair, there were a couple of highlights from the Phoenix series:

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REPORTED!

 

[puckhead]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned, but Doan and Smith were assessed game misconducts for their actions at the end of the game. I think they might also be a little lighter in the wallet for those post-game comments.

Really have lost a ton of respect for both Doan and Smith, just a couple of crybabies.

max fine: $2,500
if a coach said anything close to that? $100k


Yandle's tinfoil comments:
“[The refs] know we don’t have an owner, they know we don’t have anyone to back us up, so maybe that makes it easier for them to make calls against us.”


I'll give them a pass for now, as all this is in the heat of the moment. I'd be mighty pissed too.
see what shakes out over the next few days, after some reflection.


jesus, the Kings are in a zone. No one had put three goals past Quick since Van in game 4 of the first round.
Only 14 games to get to the SCF.

 

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I guess Smith must have forgotten about that knee that Morris stuck out on Scuderi in game 2. No debate about the intentions on that play.

 

[IPostedWhat]

I just wanted to say congrats to all the Kings fans that post on here. The Kings are having one of the best postseasons I can remember watching.

Best of luck to them in the SCF.

 

[forty_three]

Karma on Roszival for the horrendously bad dive a few minutes before.

and lost in all of this is how badly Hanzal floated by his check (Penner) on the GWG.
that was gross.

It was crazy how quickly they self destructed. Get a little angry and *poof* all sense was GONE.

post game shit:


What else? I’m surprised Doughty didn’t get an unsportsmanlike for going Tazmanian on the ref and then on the linesmen.

But he was right.

I was SURE that Doughty was going to get the winner. And Phoenix was going to go apeshit. What actually happened was so much better.

His elbow catches Rosival in the shoulder

He should be suspended for leading with the elbow, not the knee part of the hit.

“[The refs] know we don’t have an owner, they know we don’t have anyone to back us up, so maybe that makes it easier for them to make calls against us.”

Oh shut up, you pussy. You DO have an owner. The same league that pays the refs' salaries.

I was disappointed in Doan chirping in the line. But I was more disappointed at how easy it was for the Kings to own them psychologically.

 

[davnlaguna]

 

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Dat's purdy...

 

[Ho_Brah]

If there's one topic that's received lopsided media coverage in this series, it's the refereeing.

If you buy what their players think, Phoenix has been victimized over and over by poor officiating. Meanwhile, the Kings got away with murder. The league -- which owns them, by the way -- was, for some mysterious reason, out to get them. Poor Coyotes.

Sorry, I don't see it that way.

Don't get me wrong -- the refereeing was indeed shoddy at times. The real story, in my view, is that there were plenty of bad calls and missed calls on both sides. Fans of both teams have laundry list of complaints. However, only the calls that went against Phoenix seem to be making the headlines.

The reason? The Coyotes complained loudly about the officials throughout the series, and the Kings didn't. Their view is getting the most attention because Phoenix is the squeaky wheel. Sutter, in his farmer way, didn't play that card. But he easily could have.

Here are just a few points to think about from the other side.

-Did the Coyotes complain when Justin Williams went off on a bogus interference call -- one so bad NBC's announcers couldn't believe it -- and they scored the crucial first goal in Game 4? Nope.

-Did it hurt the Coyotes when Drew Doughty went off for another dubious interference penalty in overtime in Game 5--the only call in OT? No. Phoenix could have easily ended the game on that power play.

-Mike Smith drew phantom interference calls throughout the series, flopping around to get the refs' attention. Dave Tippett later became conveniently sanctimonious about Brown diving.

-Derek Morris blatantly stuck a knee out to hit Rob Scuderi in Game 2. Tippett refused to comment on the hit when questioned by reporters. Shanahan did not suspend Morris or even levy a fine. Now, according to Smith, Dustin Brown's hit on Rozsival deserves a "lifetime ban."

In short, I don't put stock into what the Coyotes are saying, though I can try to understand what it stems from. Emotions are naturally running high. They're disappointed and frustrated. With a little more time to cool off, they may realize the NHL isn't out to get them. I would hope an apology is forthcoming, as their postgame conspiracy theories were downright embarrassing. Heck, pushing the series to seven games would have helped the league's bottom line. Every bit of revenue counts.

The league has already determined that Brown's hit wasn't worthy of a hearing. Were there an unusual amount of missed calls in Game 5, or is this just a strong case of sour grapes? (And on that topic: why does it seem like the officiating in so many playoff games has been widely condemned by fans on both sides?)

For now, I'm fed up with the Coyotes' complaints. The Kings out-shot, out-chanced, and just plain out-played them, and that's why they were beaten. This is a controversy that shouldn't exist.

 

[naslundfan19]

Great post Nate. Rep.

 

[davnlaguna]

About the bad calls, i said this last night when the Kings were down 2-1 after a few calls that were missed that would have helped the Kings

not going to complain yet
Good teams beat bad reffing in the long run.
Kings are still controlling the play and I can hope it will get tied soon

While there are bad calls, sometimes a lot of them, I don't think the refs are trying to skew the game. One game may get a lot of bad calls on the same team and cost the team a game, but if I thought the refs were deliberately fixing games I could not watch. No body every complains when their team gets a break due to a bad call. It makes up for the one that was missed a shift, a period, a game, a week, a season ago.

In the long run the bad calls even out, and if they don't there is nothing the players can do about it and less than nothing I can do about it. I might swear (not very often) and complain but it never seems to change the call on the ice.

 

[naslundfan19]

Does anyone know how Rozsvial is doing?

 

[KillerVee]

Kings. Ugh.

(but I am what might be called "happy" for DavnLaguna and Nate)

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

Kings. Ugh.

(but I am what might be called "happy" for DavnLaguna and Nate)

You also hate Ritari.

 

[KillerVee]

You also hate Ritari.

I love my rit-tard.

 

[puckhead]

Does anyone know how Rozsvial is doing?

Michal Rozsival has a knee/thigh bruise. No structural damage, GM Don Maloney said.

 

[puckhead]

sorry for putting this image in your head.
funny though.

 

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Do we call that Sutterotica?

/I see sideboob