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Tippett on officiating: “If I told you what I really thought it would cost me a lot of money”

Dave Tippett

Overcoming a third period deficit is already tough for an offense as limited as the Phoenix Coyotes’ but killing three power plays during the third period didn’t exactly help matters. Coyotes coach Dave Tippett - sort of - didn’t take the bait when asked about some questionable calls following Phoenix’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

“If I told you what I really thought it would cost me a lot of money,” Tippett said. “The game is turning a little dishonest [when it comes to] embellishment by the players. When it’s done well, it’s very hard for the referees. If you fall down by the boards, if you drop your stick or throw your head back you put the refs in a hard position ... it makes the game dishonest.”

He didn’t go into exact detail, yet Tippett did say a few things that might get him a fine right there. Tippett also partially blamed penalties for Phoenix’s lack of offense, as they only managed four shots on goal in the third period.

Third period calls

One could argue that Oliver Ekman-Larsson shouldn’t have been the only one who received a penalty when he was whistled for cross-checking. Many probably didn’t like that Shane Doan and Drew Doughty received matching penalties and Brian Engblom objected to a Radim Vrbata slashing call in the game’s last minute.

Sutter’s response

When asked about the embellishments, Sutter’s response was simple.

“I didn’t see it,” Sutter said. “We didn’t complain last game.”

Perhaps that has something to do with that whole “winning” thing, but Sutter’s been pretty fair with his reactions. He didn’t make a big stink about the Shane Doan boarding hit on Trevor Lewis, for example.
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So how big of a factor were the calls? Did refs make the wrong ones? Is Tippett out of line for making these comments? Share your thoughts.