FanHouse LiamReddox

During Pittsburgh's 4-3 win over the New York Rangers this past Saturday, Colton Orr received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for interference on Penguins defenseman Mark Eaton. The call sparked some harsh reactions from the Rangers blogosphere and fan base, while head coach John Tortorella and goalie Henrik Lundqvist spoke out regarding the officiating in general following the game.

It's common to complain about the officiating in any professional sport, but the NHL in particular deals with a confusing and inconsistent disciplinary structure (where a sex joke might get you shelved longer than a hard elbow to the head).

It all prompted us to take a look at the power play/penalty kill differential for every team across the league. But we needed more; we needed some perspective from the league. Luckily, Stephen Walkom, NHL director of officiating, was more than willing to talk it out.

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Penguins center Evgeni Malkin added to his league-leading point total on Friday night, picking up a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh's 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. He was also at the center of some controversy late in the third period when he dished out this hit on Kings forward Wayne Simmonds.

The Boston Bruins won their ninth straight game on Tuesday night, picking up a 5-2 victory in Pittsburgh. Aside from winning nine in a row, the Bruins finish the month of December with a 12-1 record, while extending their lead in the Eastern Conference to nine points over the No. 2 team, the New York Rangers Washington Capitals.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ice, the month of December can't end soon enough for the Penguins, as they went 5-9 for the month, including four consecutive losses on home ice. Even worse, Pittsburgh has posted a 2-7 record in its past nine games at Mellon Arena. That's not good. Look, I realize the Penguins have been slow starters the past two seasons before kicking it in gear in February and March, but can you keep relying on that? Might make it a little easier on yourself to actually win some games in October, November and December because, you know, those games count too.

As for this game, Boston received a stellar effort in net from Tim Thomas as he turned aside 32-of-34 shots, while Phil Kessel, Dennis Wideman, Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara and Martin St. Pierre provided the offense. The Bruins went 2-for-8 on the power play, and scored a shorthanded goal on a 3-on-1 break in the third period, pretty much taking Pittsburgh out of the game. I think that speaks volumes about the Penguins power play when they allowed a 3-on-1 rush with the man advantage.

Highlight of the night for Pittsburgh was Tim Wallace, a recent callup from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who squared off against Milan Lucic and actually held his own for a while, before getting dropped by Lucic. The two teams meet again on Thursday, in Boston.