Penguins outlast the Red Wings 4-3 in 2OT; 4-minute penalty costly for Detroit

Wouldn't it be great if NBA officials called things the way their NHL counterparts do?

You know, even if the game is in the balance, you call a penalty when you see a penalty.

In the second overtime with the game tied at 3 in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, Red Wings rightwinger Jiri Hudler was hit with a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. Detroit had penalty-killed two power plays earlier in the game. But those were two minutes long, and a four-minute penalty kill when the game's long and the team's tired was probably just too much.

When I thought of that penalty being called (the first two calls were questionable at best), I could see that the referee made the right call. I kept thinking back to NBA official Joey Crawford's failure to whistle Los Angeles Laker Derek Fisher for a foul on San Antonio Spur Brent Barry in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Some referees call it as they see it while some appear to let their personal feelings get in the way.

This again begs the question: why was hapless NBA commissioner David Stern letting Crawford work such an important game against a team he clearly has had issues with?

The win has to be discouraging for Detroit in some ways. They had nearly twice the shots on goal that the Penguins had (58 to 32).

We go on now to Game 6 in Pittsburgh. Detroit still leads the series 3-2, but it's very possible the series will come down to a Game 7 Saturday at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.