Faithful reader Duffy has suggested a blog posting asking about whether or not there is some sort of conspiracy against the Flyers that leads to excessive or unwarranted penalties or perhaps harsher disciplinary measures leveled by the league against the Orange and Black. I’ll put my opinion out there: From my perspective during the playoffs, there were some unbelieveably horrendous calls and non-calls that went against the Flyers and at several points we were wondering if the NHL wanted the Capitals to advance because of Ovechkin and the Canadiens to advance because, well, they’re the Canadiens. Thinking back to early in the season, there were five Flyers suspended (Boulerice, Downie, Cote, Jones, Hartnell) at various times for aggressive hits that sometimes resulted in injuries. A couple of these suspensions, at least, were questionable. That being said, I would have to argue against the idea of a premeditated conspiracy against the Flyers at the league level. I think the NHL wants to have integrity in its officiating and discipline and to remain fair in its dealings with all teams. NHL officiating is not the best, however, and I’m sure fans of every team can cite terrible calls that went against their clubs. Now, it may happen that individual refs carry a subconscious bias or trepidation in regard to the Flyers, especially since the highly aggressive play that resulted in the early-season suspensions recalled the old Broad Street Bullies, which I am sure no ref or the league wishes to have to deal with. At any rate, hopefully the league will continue to work to see that the best and most impartial offciating possible will be the norm across the NHL. That’s how I see it. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Questionable Kovalev goal
Orange and Black Attack 