Colin White's penalty last night

Didn't want to bury this in the game thread. I saw that a lot of people were upset at White's penalty, but I don't think he deserves all the blame. First of all the play was dirty from moment the puck was dumped into the Devils zone. As White went back to get it, Roberts slashed him hard, and boarded him. It was a rediculously obvious penalty, and a cheap hit. White did the wrong thing by hitting Roberts in retaliation, but personally, after seeing the play, I was hoping for a Bill Guerein type slash. Also after White retaliated, Roberts (who is not much of an actor) took a laughable dive. In my mind the refs blew two calls:

1. Roberts' penalties on White
2. Roberts' dive

I also used to respect Gary Roberts, but now I would not at all care if he tore up his knees and never played again. When's the last time you saw Stevens launch himself across the ice, a la Forsburg after a retiatory hit. He never does that ****, he stands his ground like a man. I can take the dirty plays, that's part of being a tough hockey player, but Roberts diving makes him a pussey in my book.

Btw, my wish for a Roberts injury were almost realized by White himself, as Colin dished out a Stevens/Kariya type hit, Roberts saw it at the last second and White actually ended up with the worst of it, but there are 29 teams in the NHL that would love a defenseman like Colin White, and we're not giving him to any of them.

I noted this in the game thread yesterday. A Leaf fan call up Mojo Radio (AM 640 in Toronto) "Leafs Talk" and said he thought Roberts too a dive. You're not the only one.

I kind of lost a little respect for Roberts after he totally nailed Jonsson from behind in the Leafs/Islanders series a couple years ago. For someone who (once) walked away from the game due to a neck injury, that was such a bonehead hit. It was a disgrace to hear people defending Roberts on the hit too afterwards.... :shakehead

The difference in power play opportunities between the two teams would lead a casual observer to think the Leafs were one of the most disciplined teams in the NHL instead of the other way around. I just wish Colin White would have gotten even later on in the game or possibly even in the next one as I've seen Gary Roberts score big goals following penalties drawn by him all too often. Sundin gets away with a lot of cheap stuff as well. That said, I liked the fire Langenbrunner showed at the buzzer when he was ready to fight on behalf of his teammates.

The difference in power play opportunities between the two teams would lead a casual observer to think the Leafs were one of the most disciplined teams in the NHL instead of the other way around. I just wish Colin White would have gotten even later on in the game or possibly even in the next one as I've seen Gary Roberts score big goals following penalties drawn by him all too often. Sundin gets away with a lot of cheap stuff as well. That said, I liked the fire Langenbrunner showed at the buzzer when he was ready to fight on behalf of his teammates.

Yeah, the officiaing was some of the worst I've ever seen. I'm not one of those guys that thinks that the refs are out to get us, I just think we had a run of bad calls. It got to the point where the guys going to box were just bewildered, like 'for what?' They didn't even argue because they didn't understand what they were being called for. I especially remember this with Mike Rupp, who was called for a penalty on a player he wasn't even close to.

Also, I agree that White's penalty was stupid, when you are defending a 1 goal lead late in the 3rd, you cannot retaliate. But it was a mistake, and I just hope he learns from it. I still believe that what White brings to the table more than makes up for the odd indescretion.