You're supposed to be able to ignore the refs, ideally. The NHL has made it impossible. I disagree with you that officiating is pretty good for the most part in the NHL. Compared to any other sport I watch, the NHL officiating is the most incompetent and arbitrary, and consistently has a negative impact to the game, and I'm not just looking at Flames games. It seems to have really gotten worse in the past few seasons. We will be talking about the refs a lot this season, I have no doubt.
Also its funny to me that people rag on soccer all the time for its diving. That display last night by the Avs was a joke, but seems commonplace in the game now. Feel the slightest nudge, glove, or stick touch you, and go down. This is the modern game.
__________________
A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
|