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Jackets notebook: Claim of ref's grudge creates plenty of talk
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 3:02 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
ST. LOUIS -- The NHL was abuzz yesterday with the bizarre controversy emanating from Monday's Nashville-Vancouver game in British Columbia. It was the prevailing conversation yesterday when the Blue Jackets took a morning skate in Scottrade Center. Vancouver winger Alex Burrows accused NHL official Stephane Auger of carrying out a vendetta against him by nailing Burrows with three questionable penalties, two of which came late in the game and directly altered the outcome. The Predators won 3-2 on a late power-play goal. According to Burrows, Auger approached him in the moments before the national anthems and promised to "get him back" for making the referee look bad during a game earlier in the month. The NHL began investigating the matter yesterday, but this story is just getting started. "I've never see anything like that before in my life," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Holy smokes. Who knows which guy is telling the truth? "All I know is somebody's going to end up in somebody's office. Somebody's in big trouble. This is not going to end well for one of those guys." Former Blue Jackets agitator Tyler Wright, now the organization's prospect development coach, grew to know plenty of NHL officials by their first name during his 613-game NHL career in which he had 854 penalty minutes. "But something like that never happened to me," Wright said. "Not once, not ever." Former St. Louis Blues enforcer Kelly Chase, who piled up 2,027 penalty minutes in a 458-game career, was irritated that Burrows went public with his complaints, saying it would have been "handled differently" when he played. Blue Jackets right winger Derek Dorsett -- a carbon copy of Wright -- said the story was stunning on many levels. "In minor hockey, I always thought there were (referees) who were out to get me," Dorsett said, with a laugh. "That was minor hockey, though. "I've seen bad calls, or calls I thought were bad. And we all have certain officials who we've dealt with in the past. But this is something different." Nash ramblerBlue Jackets captain Rick Nash had a first-period fight last night with St. Louis' David Backes. Backes came out of a check and threw his gloves down as he approached Nash. Nash more than held his own. It was Nash's first fight since Nov. 14, 2007, when he dropped gloves with Chicago's Jim Vandermeer. It was Backes' fourth fight of the season and his third since Jan. 2. Slap shotDefenseman Kris Russell (groin) and left winger Fredrik Modin (bruised foot) were held out last night, but could return on Thursday in Chicago. Story toolsToday’s Top Stories |
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