The Sports Corner

Costly mistakes

No one’s perfect, we all know that. And obviously that includes the NHL referees.

But sometimes, an imperfection during the Stanley Cup playoffs - especially in the later rounds - can potential ruin a game or even a series for a team.

Much like what happened Tuesday night in Anaheim, when referee Brad Watson blew his whistle to signal a stoppage in play right when the Detroit Red Wings put the puck in the net. The goal, if it had counted, would have tied the game up for the defending champs, but instead, the Ducks walked away with a 2-1 victory and a 2-1 series lead. Watson obviously believed Anaheim’s goaltender Jonas Hiller had the puck covered up when it was clearly still loose, much to the Wings’ chagrin.

Now this isn’t a hate post directed at Watson, or referees, but it’s more of a message to remind fans that mistakes are a major part of sports.

Referees are the easiest ones to blame, sometimes justifiably, and their calls could change the pace of the game or the momentum of a series.

Take Vancouver and Chicago for example. In game two, Kevin Bieksa was called for a hook on Dustin Byfuglien, who sold it while crashing into goaltender Roberto Luongo. Bieksa barely touched the man, and Patrick Sharp eventually tallied on the powerplay to continue the Blackhawks’ comeback.

Oh look, Brad Watson and Tim Peel were officiating that game too.

In the Carolina series, well, a major gaffe this time didn’t cost anyone the game. During a last second play in the middle frame, Chad LaRose’s shot hit the crossbar and a replay clearly showed white space between the puck and the goal line, but it was called off. Lucky for the Canes, they still ended up beating the Bruins 3-0 in that game.

These are only a few specific incidents, but it’s not too uncommon for the zebras to mess things up. However, if teams use these bad calls or early whistles as reasoning for their loss, then chalk one up on the excuses list.

There’s always that cliche: one game at a time. It’s never more true then in the playoffs, when it comes to looking forward to the next game and also not to let the past one haunt you.

It’s hard to eliminate the ref’s mistakes, but it’s important that a team rebounds from it and not dwell on what cannot be changed.

So words of wisdom to the Red Wings, look ahead to Game 4 and focus on winning it instead of flashing back to that brutal call. It would be a mistake not to.