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Vancouver columnists disagree about the NHL’s diabolical plot against Canucks

Vancouver Canucks v Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 07: Milan Lucic #17 of the Boston Bruins fights with Kevin Bieksa #3 of the Vancouver Canucks in the first period on January 7, 2012 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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Vancouver’s lead conspiracy theorist was on about the officiating again last night after the Canucks beat the Kings, 1-0, in an admittedly poorly refereed game.

Wrote The Province’s Tony Gallagher:

The players got away with more and more in the second period with the crowd howling at outrages, like Willie Mitchell very nearly ending Ryan Kesler’s career with a takeout that fortunately the Canuck got up from and skated off out of pure luck.

Yet there was no call for reasons that defied reason, until you realize the Kings badly need the points and trailed in the game, situational officiating so prevalent in the game now that it’s threatening to become a strategy teams can employ.

Curiously Gallagher went on to highlight a couple of bad calls that went against the Kings, which sort of hurt his argument. But it was out there all the same.

Gallagher, you might recall, is the same columnist that suggested before last year’s Stanley Cup finals that the Bruins would receive favorable officiating because Boston forward Gregory Campbell is NHL executive Colin Campbell’s son.

Today, presumably in response to Gallagher’s piece, fellow Province columnist Ed Willes took a swing at all the tinfoil hatters.

Here’s a theory: Maybe there aren’t any conspiracies. Maybe those calls that appear to be part of a conspiracy are simply random in nature. Maybe the fans can’t see that because their passion clouds their judgment. Maybe the organizations that cry about conspiracies are simply trying to influence officials to their own end. Or maybe they’re trying to deflect attention away from their own shortcomings.

Now, we should probably mention that Willes has been spotted eating caviar with Gary Bettman at the Bilderberg conference, but it’s true that every team receives its fair share of bad calls.

Except the Penguins.

Everyone knows the NHL wants the Penguins to win.