This is a decision that was painful for me to acknowledge. After watching the game last night and discussing in detail with my friend the legality of the hit by Stuart on Pietr, I have decided that I will no longer be pissed at the refs for their consistently terrible work on the ice. In addition, I feel the same way about Shanny now that I did when I saw him in a redwing jersey for the first time, indifference bordering on laughter. We know that his position in the disciplinary system is monkey on an organ grinder and that he is only the face of the proverbial wooden paddle. Officiating and discipline have become a joke in the NHL, you did not hear it first here.

So we come to my decision to no longer hate the officiating. I am 28 years old, went to my first game 25 years ago against the Hawks, and see my diaper days in the future as quality time with the Blues. That being said, the Blues have been a powerhouse of a team for only two years in my lifetime. During that time we had Turek and the Donger. Two of my least favorite, if not absolutely hated, players. The fact that the Donger has been in the national spotlight since leaving the Blues is not news, see Brett Hull, Scott Stevens, etc. I started thinking, maybe in the two years at the early part of last decade were really traumatic for me and I have selective memory loss. I know that the Donger is one of the dirtiest players in the league when it comes to stick infractions. However, I don't remember that many penalties incurred when the Donger was a Blue. I am starting to think that a good record (current Blues have achieved that much) and multiple big name players (Detroit, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago have achieved this next step) lead to penalty immunity. The Blues had the Donger, Al Mac, Turg, Young, and an aspiring young Jax, all of which were respected and known throughout the league (I would have included Turek if I respected him, which I don't, at least not as a goalie).

So long enough story for my explanation. I think that the Wings have tasted this kind of success provided by the league for about 15 years now, Montreal probably got it back in the day, and the Blues got it for two years since coming into the league so long ago, about 14-15 BV-Before Victor. I think that Detroit will inevitably lose favor in the league and that sometime before I die (ideally years from now) the Blues will once again garnish this respect (joke) from the league. When that happens and Detroit and the Bunch make their complaints loudly known on whatever technology has popped up at the time, this Blues fan is going to sit back, crack a smile, and remember the days when my team was out of favor. I will then promptly light a bag of flaming shit and knock on Detroit's door (followed shortly by knocks on the doors of Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Boston).