As FanHouse's resident Penguin fan, I've done my best to stay away from the fallout from the interference call made when
Martin Straka tripped up
Sidney Crosby at the end of the Pens/Rangers game on Friday. My opinion of the play is exactly what anyone's would be when their favorite team's best player was involved. I am, however, interested in how the media fallout effects the way today's game (and the rest of the series) is called.
If you're living under a rock, in the 36 hours or so since the end of game 1,
Tom Renney,
Brendan Shanahan, and Straka all more or less accused Crosby of diving to get the call, which was followed by
Michel Therrien defending his superstar, which was followed by everyone in New York saying, "HAH! The Pens are still talking about this when we've moved on," which they pretty clearly had't. It's pretty clear that both sides are working the refs through the press, and that leaves me with a simple question: will it work?
I love a conspiracy theory as much as anyone, but if the NHL were truly making these playoffs up as they went along, there's no chance that Crosby/Ovechkin gets erased on a questionably timed penalty call that went against the Caps. Instead, the truth simply is that referees are human and humans are imperfect and subjective. So will all of this talk affect them? If so, how? And more importantly, will all of the clamor from these playoffs make the league move towards more objective officiating standards? I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but today's Game 2 between the Penguins and Rangers should provide some answers.
With 21 games left in the regular season, the struggling New York Rangers have decided to make a change. No, this one doesn't involve 
