To me this issue ties in very directly with the subject of Paul's last blog, which I guess is old news now. This is Tanev's hit on Tinordi in the Pens/Bruins game of 3/16. Every rational review of the replay by anyone who understands even the basics of hockey can see that it wasn't even a penalty much less a major penalty. Paul examined this play closely in his last blog and held it up to the criteria for different penalties and found that it did not meet the criteria for any of them. The Bruins players didn't react to the hit and even their play-by-play guy questioned it (which is shocking).

This is almost definitely a case where the refs were "managing the game" and "remembering the past" instead of calling it as they saw it. Earlier in the game, in the first period, Tinordi delivered a very hard but clean hit on Malkin. Malkin got injured from it (and is still out week to week, in fact). As a Pens fan I was upset that Malkin got hurt but I can't deny that it was a clean hit and an ordinary hockey play. It is the game of hockey.

I suspect that after this the refs were watching Tinordi closely the rest of the game to see if any Pens players would go after him. They also decided that, no matter what, they would call a penalty whatever was done to him. They decided this even before Tanev delivered his hit. The actual facts of Tanev's hit didn't matter to them - it was already pre-decided.

After the Tinordi on Malkin hit the refs decided that they would "nip in the bud" any escalation of violence by calling anything that was done to Tinordi, no matter how clean of a hit. There is also some history of violent games between the Pens and Bruins, particularly in the 2010-15 time frame (not to the extent of some divisional rivals like the Flyers and Islanders but probably more than any other non-divisional team). All this stuff the refs took into account, rather than doing what they should and "being amnesic" and calling the plays as they see them.

And speaking of hot mic's, the funniest thing I ever heard in a trash-talking compilation video (it is on youtube somewhere) is in the first game of the season a while back between the Flyers and Bruins. Despite the fact that Zac Rinaldo had a 3:4 goal to suspension ratio in the AHL the Flyers brought him up and that was his first NHL game. He was taking runs at Bruins players and during a stoppage of play Marchand yelled at him: "Who the (frank) are you?! Enjoy your five games before going back to the minors!" Of course the Flyers kept him up, though.

As a fan I am looking for the Refs to call a fair game and not be the reason my team lost a game because they didnt do there job. I have seen it many times in my fandom. Just call a fair game that is it.

Are we comparing the ways a ref can determine the outcome of a game.
Whether you make up a call or miss a call to even the playfield you are trying to control the final outcome of a game. If the league is trying to sell itself to the world of sports betting as "on the up and up" they might be taking the wrong approach.

You don't need to make up a call idiot, take a page from the Kerry Fraser manual on how to change the outcome of a game and a series by simply "missing a call"
You can accuse Fraser but never convict him.
Peel's caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Now the NHL joins the NBA MLB, and NFL as cheaters.

Do they really expect gamblers to lay down their money trying to predict outcomes of games knowing this?

Scrap the entire Ref’s Union. Clear house and hand pick refs from the CHL, NCAA, and AHL. Re-hire those that display a solid ethic for making calls when they see them. There are too many refs arbitrating games and the problem needs to be addressed across the board.

Scrap the entire Ref’s Union. Clear house and hand pick refs from the CHL, NCAA, and AHL. Re-hire those that display a solid ethic for making calls when they see them. There are too many refs arbitrating games and the problem needs to be addressed across the board.
- fry

this would at least be as fresh a start as you could get.

as many have said previously in here.. the issue is rarely the calls they do make - its almost always the calls "they miss"... and do I HATE the use of that expression. If the league was honest (like that will ever happen) they don't MISS many calls. Simply put they ignore them - i.e. they chose/decide to not call them.

a crosscheck in the first period is a crosscheck in overtime. full stop.

if they actually call the penalties they see they don't put themselves in the situation of having the make "make up calls" or "even the penalty count out".

if they can make that change at the league office - "just call the penalties" - the rest will take of itself.

Everyone knows the refs in hockey have agendas. To say they don't is a lie to every single person who reads this. Just look at the Cup finals game between the Pens and Preds. The early whistle cost the Preds a goal. The refs made sure they did everything in their power to get it back for them. 6 straight penalties against the Pens. Worst part is, every single person who has watched hockey for at least a week knew it was coming. Tell me again how they want to just call the game. There are officials who hold grudges, you can see the stats online for each ref and their numbers for each team. Its pretty eye opening stuff. Its a lot like the ref in the NFL who was no longer allowed to do Eagles games, because the calls were always so one sided.