Forum » Its a bigger mistake to do nothing

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Depleted by injuries, and maybe just due for a drop-off, the Detroit Red Wings have found their remarkable 22-season streak of reaching the playoffs in jeopardy. Well, with 12 games to go, they are still in line for a spot. Gustav Nyquists third-period goal gave the Red Wings a 3-2 victory Saturday over the Minnesota Wild, their fourth win in five games. "The young guys are playing more and more and starting to believe in themselves more and more," said Jimmy Howard, who made 28 saves. "Its a fun time of year because youre seeing what we have, and the future looks bright." Brendan Smith and David Legwand each scored on a power play for the Red Wings, who were in a 2-for-25 slump with the man advantage until getting goals on both of their opportunities in this rare afternoon start. The Red Wings also quieted the Wilds top line of Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, held without a point for the first time in eight games. "For both teams it was a muddy track. There was no room for either team. It was just check, check, check, check, check. We found a way to get it done," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings, missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg among others, moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 79 points. Columbus has 78. Mikko Koivu gave the Wild an early lead with a power-play goal, and Charlie Coyle tied it on a third-period penalty shot. But the Wild, clinging to a wild card spot in the Western Conference, fell to 2-3-4 in nine games since the trade deadline. "We cant keep letting these points go to waste. Weve got to come into every game and play a solid 60 minutes," Coyle said, "Its coming down to the wire here, and weve got to make the most of it." The Wild, who have 83 points with 11 games remaining, are in seventh place, slightly ahead of Phoenix. The first team below the cut, Dallas, has 77 points but one more game left than the Wild. Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, prepared for questions from reporters about the recent slide, tried to stress optimism. "Were a confident team, and we feel good about where were going. We just have to jump start things a little bit right now," Yeo said. Just 15 seconds into the final frame, Johan Franzen, trailing Coyle on a breakaway, stuck his stick out to trip the struggling young centre. The penalty shot was awarded, the first of Coyles career. He used a slick right-left move to fake out Howard and tie the game at 2. That was Coyles second goal in 24 games. The momentum didnt last for the Wild, though. Nyquist, who has an NHL-leading 16 goals in 22 games since Jan. 20, sent a snap shot between Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper didnt appear to see right away and let get past his glove. The Red Wings thought they had another one barely a minute later when Franzen was called for making contact with Kuemper before the puck went in. Nyquist, who leads the Red Wings with 21 goals in just 45 of the teams 70 games since being called up from Grand Rapids of the AHL, credited centre Tomas Tatar for creating space. "He did a great job of driving the middle, and its his goal really. All I did was shoot," Nyquist said. Quipped Howard: "Us Maine guys know how to do it right." NOTES: The matinee was scheduled to accommodate the first Big Ten hockey championship game. ... The teams were due in Detroit for a Sunday night rematch, cramming their only two matchups this season into a 32-hour window. ... With Wisconsin taking on Ohio State, Suter and Wild teammate Dany Heatley had strong interest in the Big Ten title game. Heatley played two years for the Badgers from 1999-2001. Suter, a Madison area native, spent the 2003-04 season there before turning pro. ... Legwand was fined $5,000 Friday by the NHL for butting Pittsburghs Evgeni Malkin with the end of his stick when they played the Penguins on Thursday. ... Legwand has two goals and five assists in nine games since he was acquired from Nashville. ... Koivu ended a 13-game streak without a goal. He and Suter share the team lead with 32 assists. MLB Jerseys . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Cheap Jerseys From China . Kamloops, B.C., the host city of this years Tim Hortons Brier, is where he won his first Canadian mens curling crown in 1996. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/. It was well worth the wait. Manning and the Denver Broncos waited eight long months, then another 33 minutes to get the season started because of a lightning storm. Offcial Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Authentic Jerseys . The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar.World Cup South Africa 2010 was a special time. Football coming to a soccer-mad continent, but to a country where the game wasnt most popular had a peculiar charm. The cultural experience was a rich one for both locals and visitors alike. Its too bad the football didnt live up to the occasion and celebration around it. The soccer was poor four years ago: stale, cagey and safe. Teams played not to lose and the result was often times a difficult product to watch. Fast forward to the first two days of Brazil 2014, and the games couldnt be more different. Four games in, and the tournament is four for four in appealing, captivating football. Attacking, purposeful and entertaining: the matches through two days have had it all. 15 goals so far is an impressive tally, representing a breath-taking start. Problem is the question lingers whether our initial taste of the 2014 World Cup will be characterized by top football or the sour taste of dubious referee decisions? To many poor officiating has overshadowed the standout play seen through two days. Its a shame on the worlds biggest stage the officiating of the sport remains subpar. Significant dollars, national pride, and worldwide perspective and opinion of soccer are shaped and are on the line. Instead of conversations about Robin van Persies scoring prowess and Neymars mesmorizing skill, the discussion revolves around bad calls and disallowed goals. Croatia was slighted in the opener after an incompetent referee decision awarded the hosts a penalty. The penalty given by Yuichi Nishumura should never have been. Brazilian striker Fred clearly flopped, and Nishumura hesistated before pointing to the spot and conspicuously showing Dejan Lovren a yellow. The crowd and the moment got the best of the official. Nishumura looked tentative throughout the match, ill-suited for the occasion. Neymar made it 2-1. Good night, Croatia. Harsh. Mexico had two goals disallowed in their 1-0 win over Cameroon thanks to an over-anxious linesman. Two offside calls that never were cost Giovani Dos Santos the headlines. More importantly for Mexico, those are two valuable goals gone by the wayside in a group where goal differential may decide who advances and who goes home. Mexico was victim to a Carlos Tevez goal from an offside position in 2010. Twice unlucky, this time on Friday the 13th doesnt bode well. The trifecta of unjust decisions was completed when Spain was given a penalty in their Group B opener against the Netherlands when Diego Costa stepped on the leg of a diving Stefan De Vrij. The penalty was given for poor defending and not a foul. The defender has to stay on his feet. But a penalty conceded was not deserved. Xabi Alonso converted to give Spain the early lead. If it were not for an incredible turn of events leading to the Dutch slaughter of Spain in Salvador, it would be another black eye on the game. Regardless the scoreline, the flawed decision has the viewing public talking. The biggest problem the game of soccer has given itself is a lack of credibility and belief the proceedings are on the up and up. The word most commonly spewed criticism by casual onlookers after two days is "fix" because of years of negative press and exaggeration of the shadiness of the global game. Whether its true or not, there is a level of distrust among a cynical fanbase. Not so cynical that the world stops watching, but negative enough to cry bloody murder. To the devout fan, the questionable officiating has become a frustrating distraction to the true beauty. Bad refereeing shouldnt be accepted as commonplace. But it is. p;While goal-line technology has proven a worthy addition to the game, its clear referees need more help in doing their job.dddddddddddd Relying on the judgment of one man attempting to marshal proceedings on a massive playing field at a time when the game is faster than ever is proving to be a challenge too daunting. Giving more responsibility to the referees assistants hasnt helped much. It has made the job of a linesman that much more difficult, having to lend a helping hand to calling fouls in their quarter of the field while holding the line, maintaining their position to call offside. They are being entrusted to do two things at once, with no room for error. What should the priority be: holding the back-line or adjudicating the play? Its tough. FIFA remains open for more criticism, making its priority to include referees from all member confederations to the World Cup. Why arent the best officials, no matter where they are from, sent to officiate the most important games? Officiating crews from four continents have overseen the first four games. Are they the best in the world? Its difficult to say yes. So what more can be done to help referees? Instant replay on decisions involving goal-scoring situations is an answer. A quick review of whether a goal was scored from an offside position or not should be simple. Its reasonable to expect a clear decision, one way or another, with the use of replay to provide a conclusive answer by the end of a goal celebration. Getting the decision right should be priority. This is simplistic, and would give the fourth official a job other than babysitting the managers. Other reviewable decisions arent quite as easy. Although the laws of the game (fouls, handballs, etc...) are crystal clear, the interpretation of the rules are not. What one official deems a foul, or hand-to-ball or ball-to-hand varies. Replay may strike up more internal debate on situations there may not be a clear answer. If more replay is brought in, there has to be a clear line how far and for what the technology is applicable. This is a must. And to tell you the truth, I dont have an answer where that line should be. FIFA embracing an idea as such is best case a long shot. There are too many reasons why not to apply than there is to use. The status quo will remain. Instead of more technology, perhaps the best answer is to add another official to the field of play. Two on-field referees. The NHL added a referee when the game became too fast and the officials couldnt keep up. Angles and referee positioning would be markedly better, and fatigue would be less an issue. Although they may see the game different ways, four eyeballs are better than two. Perhaps another referee would have caught Costas head butt of Martins Indi? Perhaps another official could have helped Graham Poll in the 2010 World Cup Final when the head referee said he didnt have a proper angle when Nigel de Jongs challenge went high into the chest of Alonso. Officiating will always be imperfect, and we can accept that. What we cant accept is a reluctance to change when it hurts the integrity of the game. A second referee is the easiest answer, and could represent a step in a positive direction. Referees will always make mistakes. Its a bigger mistake to do nothing. Its been a spectacular start to the tournament. There is no reason to believe the top play wont continue. And there is no reason to believe the negative talking points surrounding officiating wont continue too. What will you focus on? I tend to worry it will be the latter. And you wouldnt be wrong or alone. ' ' '