Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has been around the block many times when it comes to goalie interference penalties and the goals that may (or may not) be allowed because of them. He still finds himself fuming about them every now and then, however.
Babcock aired his latest grievances following the Red Wings’ 4-3 OT loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, as Puck Daddy reports.
Specifically, he’s unhappy that this Derick Brassard goal counted:
While a would-be overtime game-winner against the Buffalo Sabres was disallowed in an eventual shootout loss on Sunday:
“That’s gotta be the same,” Babcock told Puck Daddy. “So I want the second point, or they shouldn’t get a point. I don’t know how it works.”
Puck Daddy notes that referees Tim Peel and Steve Kozari made a handful of controversial calls last night.
But hooboy, was it a bumpy ride for Peel and Kozari. They missed an obvious dive on Gustavsson, calling an goalie interference penalty on Dominic Moore (who did make contact). They missed the Hagelin high-stick. They missed a Dan Cleary goal, that had to be later confirmed by the war room. They made a complete hash out of a late third-period sequence in which Marty St. Louis hooked Justin Abdelkader and Abdelkader embellished – the penalties had Abdelkader off for hooking and Marc Staal of the Rangers off for diving, after he fell over a sliding Abdelkader.
St. Louis had to inform the officials they had the wrong player, and he was still hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that was meant for the Red Wing.
Fair or not, the Red Wings are now on a three-game losing streak, leaving them with an odd 6-3-4 record.
They can channel that agitation into a climb in the standings, as they begin a four-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Perhaps Babcock & Co. will get a few more favorable calls in front of their home crowd?