“ I feel like some refs come into the building and do a great job…Some other refs like Auger tonight take it personal, he comes into the game and he knows he’s going to make a call against me and give Nashville an advantage, and I don’t think that’s fair for my teammates or the fans.”

That was Alex Burrows, interviewed from the bike last night after a crushing and questionably officiated game against the Nashville Predators. Burrows alleged referee Stephane Auger had personally targeted him last night in order to get even with Burrows after the Canuck skater made Auger look bad on a boarding call made in favour of Burrows just over a month earlier against the Predators on December 8th.

Burrows was hit by Smithson into the glass, and Smithson received a game misconduct for charging Burrows, however Burrows went on to skate on his normal shift, allegedly frustrating Auger to the point that he would build a personal vendetta with Burrows so intense that he would eventually change the outcome of the game last night by calling a penalty on Burrows, ending the Canucks late power play and effectively putting the game in the hands of the Nashville Predators.

Burrows, obviously choked up, later elaborated on a conversation he had with Auger before the game “Smithson hit me from sideways and he said ‘I saw the replay you got your head up, you weren’t really hurt, and you made me look bad so I’m going to get you back tonight’ , and he did and it cost us two points”

To add to the drama, Auger did in fact have a quick chat with Burrows before the game. While it’s not clear at all what they are talking about, I’m sure they weren’t talking about the how excited they both were for the new How I Met Your Mother episode.

“Let’s say we miss playoffs by one point at the end of the year, that might be the game that will cost us the playoffs so it’s important” – Alex Burrows

Now, I will be honest, I have never thought Alex Burrows was the smartest NHL player in the world, in fact, he’s probably not the smartest player on the Canucks. However, the quote directly above is the smartest thing a hockey player could have said. He’s not mad at Auger directly, he’s not making it personal about his playing style, he’s not even worrying about the calls, he’s being professional. NHL players are professional athletes, paid to win hockey games or points, and eventually win the Stanley cup. Stephane Auger allegedly got in the way of Alex Burrows doing his job, and I commend Burrows for stepping up, calling a spade a spade, and pointing out Auger.

As well as the possible playoff implications, the NHL needs to handle the situation very carefully in order to re-insure fans that the rules of the game are enforced fairly by professionals. NHL referees have had relatively clean status’ as professional referee’s while other leagues have had some issues, however the playoff implications of the game and associated points are much more important than a certain questionable referee with a history of controversy.

Wait, What? There was actually a game last night?

Almost forgotten in all this mess is the fact that there was a hockey game played for two points last night, when all is said and done the Predators beat the Canucks 3-2.

The game itself, was an ugly defensive affair, scarred by a final twenty minutes that was a parade to the penalty box, killing any flow in the game and ultimately making it pretty hard to watch. Six minor penalties were called in the 3^rd, 5-1 against the Canucks. Not exactly an even spread.

I don’t really know how to approach the game, in my eyes the result is still tainted, so how do you judge a hollow forty minutes?

In all honestly, I can’t figure out the Canucks when they play the Predators. They play great, smash the Predators and look like the Canucks I know and love, or they play terribly, allow the Predators to take advantage of them, and lose two points.

The Canucks need to play with intensity and grit, allowing them to find results like they had on December 22^nd against the Canucks. The Canucks allowed the game to allegedly be decided by the referees because they hadn’t decided it themselves, if it’s 4-2 for the Canucks and Burrows gets an extra call because Auger doesn’t like him, who cares.

Injuries, News and Notes Special: Dan Ellis Edition

• The Canucks move on to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, hopefully with a roster that includes Burrows. Check back here for any updates.
• Steve Bernier, who missed last night’s game with a groin injury, is listed as day-to-day.
• Ryan Johnson and Aaron Rome are also day-to-day with foot and head injuries.
• There was still more fallout on TSN today after the laser-pointer incident at GM place the other night, it’s amazing that one drunken idiot has received so much attention.

“Hey henrik sedin…stop trying to ride me like a horse…I am not into guys”  - Dan Ellis

That’s probably the type of comedy you would expect from a beer league goalie, who’s about 8 beers deep, late in the third, frustrated after getting blown out. Instead, it’s a gem from the verified Twitter account of Predators goalie Dan Ellis. I’ll assume he wasn’t drunk, so my previous expectations are only half correct I guess.

Dan Ellis should be flattered Henrik Sedin, the NHL scoring leader (Has a ring to it, doesn’t it?)  would chose to spend those precious few seconds between face-offs with him in the crease. Henrik spends enough time with Ellis already, to be honest. Maybe Ellis just isn’t comfortable with a guy who’s around so often, I mean I would get worried too – Henrik has 4 points in his last two games against Ellis, he’s obviously spending too much time in Ellis’ crease! It’s not like there’s a lot of physical contact in hockey either, why would the two ever have to touch each other?

All sarcasm aside, Ellis really needs to take a page out of Luongo’s book and keep it quiet. Luongo, after the loss last night (and a series of terrible calls against the Canucks) had this to say “I’m not the type of guy to make excuses, that’s not the who I am, but I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole career it’s the first time I’ve seen calls like that, especially with goals on the line.”

Every player would love to take a good crack at the ref’s during the post game interview or via some other public forum, but they don’t, they’re professionals. “Bad Referee” jokes are some of the easiest to make, but you don’t see Henrik Sedin going out there and making sexual jokes about the ref blowing calls, or any of that childish non-sense usually reserved for teenagers playing intramural hockey. As a player only in his third year in the NHL, I would have thought a bit of humility would still be with you Dan, but I guess you’ve been jaded by the microscope that is playing hockey in Nashville, my mistake.

So, expect the crease to be even more crowded next game Mr. Ellis, maybe even a threesome, with Swedish twins! I’ll let you imagine your own hilarious punch-line, since you have so nicely shared your talent on Twitter, I’m sure you will have a field day, is 140 characters even enough space to express such comedic joy with words like rubber, crease, twins, score and many more at your disposal?

Now That I’m Angry…

• How mad are you, Canucks fans, that the Canucks got ripped off last night, how much worse do you feel because it’s a personal attack on Burrows, not just a bad call?
• How do you feel about Burrows and how the situation was handled?
• What should the NHL do about all this mess?

BONUS

• What’s the best immature Dan Ellis joke you can come up with? Leave one in the comments section. Best response gets used in next Canucks vs. Predators article.