Pens 2, Hurricanes 4

The Pens lost their second consecutive games last night to Carolina, 4-2. Pens goals by Malkin and Orpick. It was Brooks's first goal since 10/22/05. A stretch of 181 games.

Normally I would point to specifics of the game at this point but alas there is something else that needs to come to light about the contest. The officiating. Colin Campbell - I hope you take a look at this one. Eric Furlatt and Brad Wilson were the officials. They were terrible. Not just for the Pens either. They were terrible for the Hurricanes as well. Jeff Taffe got his face mashed in by a shoulder. A blow to the head such as that is a penalty. No questions asked. And not call last night. Glen Wesley took out Kris Beech with an obvious boarding hit late in the third, Jordan Staal going after the loose puck that resulted from the boarding hit Wesley in an attempt to get control of the puck. Staal called for charging. Malkin was hooked and pulled off of the puck on more than 3 occasions. He was! Look at the tape!

This is one of the reasons why the NHL will always be a second tier sports league. The referees have more control over the outcome of the game than either the players or coaching staffs. Call the game the same each and every game, and each and every period. Sick of it!