Burrows Fined, But Has Valid Concern

Alexander Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks, who has been one of the hottest players in hockey yesterday, was fined $2,500 by the NHL after his remarks after the Canucks 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday night. He claimed that Stephane Auger, one of the officials for Sunday's game, told Burrows he had made him look bad earlier this season and that he was "out to get him". While the only two people who know what was actually said for certain are Burrows and Auger, I may actually have to support Burrows in this situation. Auger clearly did have a chat with Burrows before the game:



Again, I have no idea what is being said here. However, it is still unusual for a player and a ref to have this kind of conversation before the game and if they do are likely not catching up on the weather. So, the game starts. Burrows racks up 14 minutes in penalties; a relatively soft diving call, an interference call that is perhaps the worst I've seen in the sport, and a misconuct major in the waning seconds. The interference call can be seen here:



Um...? Look, I understand missing a call every now and then. But really? This is the worst phantom call I have ever seen. To compound matters, Auger was also the referee for this perplexing no-goal call earlier in the season against Detroit:



Please watch that video and tell me how the referee didn't lose his job then? This is clearly a case of an ego that is too big to referee at the NHL level. The call against Detroit still dumbfounds me and the fact that Auger has shown up in more allegations just adds fuel to the fire. The NHL's answer? Fine Burrows and close the matter.

Look, I'm not Alex Burrows' biggest fan. But he has a valid complaint here. This guy has a history, including accusing Shane Doan of making "culturally insensitive" comments toward Auger in the game, who is French-Canadian. Doan denied the remarks and was cleared by the NHL. Now, I don't know Shane Doan personally, but can someone honestly tell me that they think he made any remarks toward Auger, especially with the track record he's got going now?

It's amazing this guy still has his job and as a fan of the NHL with concern for integrity of the game, I want to see him lose it. Matter closed.

QUICK HITS:

-Curtis Joseph has retired after 19 NHL seasons at the age of 42. CuJo, as he was widely known, was 454-352-90 in his NHL career that saw him play for six teams. He posted 51 shutouts over his career and finished with a 2.79 GAA, all excellent numbers. He also posted 63 career playoff victories. Our question? Is he Hall Of Fame worthy? We here at Nonsense think he is despite never winning the Stanley Cup. Make sure to weigh in on your thoughts; CuJo a Hall member or not?



-Coming into tonight, 5 points seperate the 5th place Boston Bruins from the 12th place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference. Talk about a tight race. The only match-up of two Eastern Conference teams tonight is the Washington Capitals visting the Florida Panthers. A victory will move Washington past idol Buffalo for 2nd in the Eastern Conference.

-No news on Ilya Kovalchuk, except he had a goal and two assists in a 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators Tuesday. It had been 43 days since the Thrashers last regulation win, which came on November 30th in a 4-3 win over Florida.

-What a goalie battle at Madison Square Garden last night. Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur both posted shutouts as Patrik Elias scored in the 4th round of a shootout to give the Devils a 1-0 win. The amazing thing? Lundqvist stopped 45 shots and Brodeur stopped 51. This is a game I'd like to just see end in a 0-0 tie. Banish the shootout!

And tonights MATCH-UP OF THE NIGHT:

PITTSBURGH (28-18-1) @ CALGARY (26-14-6)

A rare match-up of titans tonight in Calgary as Evgeni Malkin looks to get out of his scoring drought and the Flames look to just score, period. Pittsburgh hasn't won in Calgary since December of 2007. That was also their last trip there. Anyone else think the NHL schedule needs reassessment?

Prediction: Calgary, 4-3

That's all for Buotte today. I've got much more to say and will be chiming in with more Nonsense later.