Penalties... Coincidence or Conspiracy

[Red Menace]

I wouldn't use the word conspiracy, but taken your definition of "non-coincidence", I voted for conspiracy.
I believe there is some bias creeping out for sure.

[Saqe]

[DJones]

They didn't get together and plot against us but the Grey area that is normally used has shrunk massively.

[Resolute 14]

Flames fans need to stop behaving like Canuck fans with this victim complex stuff.

Since Wideman's hit, we have been shorthanded 42 times in 11 games, and had 39 powerplays. That is right in line with October, when we were shorthanded 39 times and had 34 powerplays in 12 games. Common thread: the Flames have played like ass in both months. We had very positive PP:PK ratios in November, December and January because we were playing well. But the penalties were creeping in at the end of January - before Wideman's hit - because we started to play poorly.

As it is, most of the damage post-Wideman hit in terms of penalties was the two games officiated by Eric Furlatt's ego. 10 PPs and 16PKs. In the remaining nine games, we've had 29 power plays and 26 penalty kills. That is 2.88 PKs per game, which is right in line with our overall 2.66 for the season.

Simply put, we're not being victimized. We're just playing at a level barely above the Oilers.

[Inferno]

I don't think it's a league-wide conspiracy but I do think certain refs are pissed off and since they can't take it out on Wideman himself they'll take it out on the Flames. Then there's refs like Furlatt who are just terrible regardless.

[Tacopuck]

I voted conspiracy because this is the internet

[Tinordi]

Bettman is teaching Nenshi a lesson for not listening to him.

[codynw]

For what it's worth, I think there are more penalties being called league wide since the All Star break.

[Looch City]

Change the word "Penalties" to "2004".

[Badgers Nose]

Knowing how refs like to balance things I'd subtract PK from PP time compare before and after.

If the differential is about the same, then nothing changes.

If PK goes up and PP time goes down then I think there might be something.

[Resolute 14]

^

Before Wideman, 1.34 PPs for every PK (total, not minutes)
After Wideman: 0.93 PPs for every PK
-->Excluding Furlatt's nonsense: 1.11 PPs for every PK
October, when we were playing to a similar level of suck: 0.87 PPs for every PK
December, when we were en fuego: 1.74 PPs for every PK.

It's all a function of how well we are playing.

Edit: In our 11 games since the hit, we have had more PPs than our opposition four times, fewer PPs four times and the same number three times.

[MoBiBu]

Of course, the Flames might be adjusting to minimize the effect of the bias from the refs; easing up on hits and not being as aggressive when checking. At the same time, other teams may be realizing they can get away with more due to the bias and so the number of liberties taken against the Flames go up without the appropriate increase in called penalties.

I'm probably not the only one who noticed Gio's body language when the refs took their time to call an infraction of the Kings (I think it was in the 3rd). The stats simply don't paint the full picture - watching the games and seeing the contrasting embellishment calls (and non-calls) and oddities like the the juxtaposed icings (LA's waived off, Calgary's not, despite the exact same situations, one right after the other) all adds up.

[madmike]

Let's be honest - at this point more penalties is probably a good thing. It means a better draft pick.