Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
It hasn’t been the amount of penalties - more that they were so often in the first period, which killed momentum and/or put the Flames in a hole.
They’ve been the better team than Montreal in both games under Sutter so less penalties makes sense like you say. Plus, I feel like refs, while not actually managing the game, are heavily influenced by the flow of the game - if a team is pushing hard they kind of get caught up and look for a penalty by the other team.
And maybe they are more scared of getting chewed out by Sutter than other coaches.  |
One can only hope that last point is a factor. I didn't consider it before but you wonder if that same "respect" factor that affected the room also spans to the guys in stripes.
There's always going to be a game management influenced call or two per night, but you wonder if they take less liberties with their calls out there with the surly 2 time cup winner watching them compared to when Ward would silently look on.