Major Penalty Kills Devils Stanley Cup Hopes

KINGS 6

DEVILS 1

LA wins 4-2

It is widely accepted in sports that no official should have an mega impact on the result of any championship game. 

Well, it just so happens, that the refs made their mark on Game Six of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals with an absolutely hideous Major Penalty call on Devils' right winger Steve Bernier for boarding and roughing Rob Scuderi, resulting in a bloody nose for Scuderi. 

While a penalty was justified, a major penalty, which gave the Kings a five minute power play was beyond ridiculous. It changed the face of the game.

According to NHL rules, a major penalty should only be called when a major infraction occurs like a fight. In this case, all Bernier did was charge Scuderi in order to get the puck and, in doing so, slammed him to the glass. A minor penalty would have been justified, not a major penalty. 

The NHL refs were notorious for bad calls throughout this postseason, a postseason that for all intents and purposes was one of the best in recent memory for the league, and brought fans to the game in droves. 

For the refs to make such a hideous call in Game Six of a Stanley Cup Final was irresponsible, and what's worse, the Kings made equally questionable infractions that were not called. This is not whining; it's fact. Case in point: the Devils spent 47 minutes in penalty, while the Kings had only six minutes of infractions. Boxscore.

Imagine if referees decided not to overturn an obvious call during a Super Bowl and that call turned out to be the deciding factor in the game. Can you imagine the reaction from the public?

We have seen MLB umpires blow big calls in playoffs all the time. Remember the phantom home run off the bat off Yankees' first baseman Tino Martinez in the 1996 ALCS? 


Bad calls can and have happened in sports, so here's a tip for refs in all leagues. If it is too close to call, and it's a big game, don't call it. Let it go, and let the teams play the game. It's the end of the season. Emotions are already high enough as it is. Let them play. 


This is not to make excuses for New Jersey. The Kings were the better team throughout the series; they took advantage of the Devils inability to cash in on their own power plays and took advantage of Jersey's inability to keep the puck out of their own end. 


The Kings were a remarkable team this season, going 16-4 in the playoffs, including 10-1 on the road. They were the best team in the League and should be commended.

But once the major penalty was called, it opened the floodgates for the Kings. One minute after the penalty, Dustin Brown connected on a 11-foot tip-in goal to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Brown, who was silent throughout the series, scored his first goal of the series on that play. Seconds later, the Kings scored again on a Jeff Carter tip-in to make it 2-0. 

At this point, the game was totally out of hand. New Jersey couldn't muster any offense as LA feasted on the power play, taking shot after shot after shot on Martin Brodeur, before Trevor Lewis scored the money-maker to make it 3-0. 

At that point, the air was completely taken out of the Devils tires, and they spent the rest of the night playing up hill. New Jersey did score a goal late in the second period on Adam Henrique's fifth goal of this postseason, but that was not enough. 

The Kings put the Devils on ice in the third period when Lewis scored his second goal of the night on an empty netter with 3:48 to go. Where was Brodeur? Who knows? The empty net rule was not in play at this point in the game. 15 seconds later, Matt Greene shot the puck right past an unsuspecting Brodeur to give the Kings a dominating 6-1 lead. 

For the Devils, this represented a painful loss. They will not get the chance to win their fourth cup in 17 years, and now there will be questions about whether Brodeur will retire, and whether Zach Parise will test the fee agent waters. 

Expect Brodeur to return. He has hinted in recent weeks that he plans to comeback at age 41; he will not go out like this. Either way, the Devils have to begin thinking about developing a young goalie underneath him next year. 

As for Parise, don't be shocked if he stays in town, but in a New York Rangers jersey. Rumors are they are interested in him.  

The Devils have a lot to be proud of this year. They reinvigorated the franchise after a rough 2010-2011 season, and beat the odds this season as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference by beating their arch rivals the Flyers and Rangers in the playoffs.