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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sports I Want to Punch Ryan Kesler in the Mouth (and I Usually Like Ryan Kesler)

Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, May 4, 2011 at 3:24 PM

Last night the Nashville Predators lost 3-2 against the Vancouver Canucks, giving the Canucks a 2-1 lead in the series.

The game ended with a bullshit call—as the Preds' Shea Weber was battling the Canucks' Ryan Kesler for the puck, Kelser held Weber's stick under his arm, causing the refs to call Weber for hooking. Some have speculated that it was a make-up call for a hit Bieksa took a few minutes earlier, but that's crap. You call 'em all or you don't call any of them—you don't pick and choose. Especially not in overtime during a playoffs game.

Here's what happened:

WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP. Kesler grabbed Weber's stick the first chance he got. Weber wasn't slashing or hooking, his arm just got wrapped around him when he grabbed onto the boards. Bullshit move on Kesler's part, even worse call from the officials. And that call caused the Canucks to go on the power play, putting one of the Preds' best players in the box, and giving Kesler the opportunity to score the game-winning goal.

But whatever. The series is not over. The Preds and the Canucks play again Thursday night, still in Nashville. Does anyone want to give me $500 so I can fly down there and make sure the refs don't fuck this one up?

In other news: After another win last night, the Tampa Bay Lightning are on the verge of sweeping the Washington Capitals. Yikes! The Flyers are down two games against the Bruins, and the Red Wings are also down two games against the Sharks.

Comments (17) RSS

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Na Na Na Na.
Na Na Na Na.
Hey Hey Hey, sucks to be the South.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 4, 2011 at 3:37 PM

1. Weber shouldn't put his stick there in the first place.
2. If he wants to avoid the call, drop the stick.
3. Kesler didn't hold the stick. He may not have made an effort to get the stick out of there, but he didn't hold it.
4. The ref gave Weber about 5 seconds to do something other than hooking Kesler before he made the call.
5. Waaaaaaaaaaah!

Posted by Frank Rizzo on May 4, 2011 at 3:38 PM

Here is a tip: If you don't want the opposing player to "chicken wing" your stick... DONT PUT THE THING BETWEEN HIS ARM AND HIS BODY!!!

Posted by muckfetro on May 4, 2011 at 3:39 PM

Canucks were the better team all night. At least one of Nashville's goals was total random luck. Bummer ending for Nashville fans, but the Canucks deserved the win.

Posted by ALEX37V on May 4, 2011 at 3:42 PM

Oh boy, Vancouver fans, I can't wait til the shoe is on the other foot.

Posted by Matt from Denver on May 4, 2011 at 3:44 PM

100% correct, non-bullshit call.

Kesler had both hands on his stick, stick on the ice, playing the puck. Weber has his stick hooked around Kesler's midsection, obstructing Kesler's ability to play the puck. That is not "Kesler is holding Weber's stick under his arm", that is "Weber is hooking Kesler". That said, they probably should've called a penalty for the hit on Bieska.

Posted by Hernandez

on May 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM

The best part of CBC on the iPad is being able to play the goal shots over and over and over on loop.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 4, 2011 at 3:56 PM

I am a rabid Vancouver fan but I thought the hit on Bieksa was clean. Mike (Mr Underwood) Fisher intentionally spearing Kesler in the groin after the opening faceoff was not.
Face it Megan without Pekka your boys would be down 3-0 and outscored 13-3.
Somewhat ironic considering it is usually a "Pekka" that gets predators in trouble.

Posted by muckfetro on May 4, 2011 at 3:59 PM

Hockey: something illegal gets played up so as to be obvious to the refs - UNACCEPTABLE, WHAT A WUSS!

Soccer: nothing happens, somebody outright fakes a penalty: PART OF THE SPORT, WHAT AN ATHLETE!

Posted by doceb on May 4, 2011 at 4:21 PM

Nope sorry, that stick was clearly loose and Weber could have pulled it out. If Kessler was truly holding it, then Weber should have let go, making it obvious Kessler had it trapped and thus drawing a call on Kessler.

Posted by kitsapien on May 4, 2011 at 4:30 PM

Goldy's team plays tonight. They are in a hole.

Posted by Luigi Giovanni on May 4, 2011 at 4:37 PM

Bruins just scored 2 goals in the first 60 seconds of Game 3 in their series against the Flyers. I don't want to jinx them so no predictions yet, but I'm feeling good about their chances this year...

Posted by RatGirl on May 4, 2011 at 4:55 PM

I know how you feel. My momma got penalized for hooking. (Just kidding, Mom!)

Posted by Free Lunch on May 4, 2011 at 6:12 PM

Oh puh-lease. I don't really know if that call was good or bad, but there is no way the preds deserved to win last night. They went something like 14 minutes in the second period without getting a shot! Not even one little shot! Jeeze.

Posted by ams_ on May 4, 2011 at 7:20 PM

SWEEP!!!

My apologies. I just came back from the Lightning/Caps game. I'm sure the ringing in my ears will go away eventually...

Posted by infrequentposter on May 4, 2011 at 8:55 PM

bad call (no) or good call, i just can't get my head around Nashville having a damn NHL team. between them, Dallas and Anaheim, it is pure stupid.

Posted by birdy num num on May 4, 2011 at 8:59 PM

You know, I've read a bunch about that call and was expecting to see something way more egregious than what I saw. It's not even entirely clear to me that Kesler was using his arm to hold Weber's stick so much as he was playing the puck. I agree with people who say that Weber needs to think about where he puts the stick if he doesn't want to take a penalty like that.

Posted by mark on May 5, 2011 at 4:50 AM