Tampa's 'cheating' accusations need league-wide evidence
Is it still cheating if the league doesn't call penalties? That was the question one hockey website asked in the wake of Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper's claims that the Red Wings cheat by interfering with opponents more frequently than any other team without getting called for a penalty.
Joseph Cadabes of Along the Boards countered Cooper's statement by noting that the Red Wings were called for six interference penalties through the first five games of the series against Tampa Bay, and he also said the blame should not fall on Detroit if the penalties go uncalled.
"The problem comes with all the alleged interference penalties not called on the Red Wings,"Cadabes wrote in his column. "Of course, proving or disproving this claim is impossible without doing an extensive film study of all 30 teams to see what could possibly have been called interference but was let go. Even then, the fact that those plays went uncalled further obscures the claim with the potential for debating whether a particular play was interference or not."
Cadabes also said in his column that the Red Wings have the unfortunate issue of playing more frequently on national television than most teams, and because of that, more people across the nation hear about subtle interferences that the officials didn't call in regards to the Red Wings more than other teams.
(h/t Along the Boards)
Photo by Rick Osentoski - USA Today
