The Grand Rapids Griffins surprised pretty much everybody by winning the first two games of the first round in Hamilton. Reports said that Jimmy Howard played really well in goal.

After attending last night’s game three in Grand Rapids, I don’t know what team played in Hamilton. Or what goaltender, for that matter. The Griffins did not look at all like they knew they were playing in the playoffs. They looked no different than they have for most of the regular season. Howard started the game wandering from the net, and things didn’t get much better. He let in five goals by the end of the game. It’s hard to tell in real time how many of those he should have had. He misplayed the puck behind the net at one point, giving up a prime scoring chance to Hamilton. At the start of the game, the defense was doing a really good job of clearing pucks away and getting to rebounds that Jimmy gave up. So I started wondering if he actually looked good in Hamilton, or if the defense made him look good. They lost the game, 5-4 in regulation.

There was also the officiating that didn’t help anything. They had an official that has plagued the Griffins all season long. He is so predictable that we knew exactly how the calls were going to be made. He calls everything (and I do mean everything) in the first period, resulting in numerous 5-on-3′s. Surprisingly, Hamilton got only one 5-on-3 and GR didn’t get any. After the first, this particular official generally swallows his whistle, no matter what. He made a few calls in the second and third period, but not enough. You could tell at points in the game that he had absolutely no control over the game, particularly over the Bulldogs. They were making what would be extremely dirty and dangerous hits during play after the whistle. And they never got called. They were particularly targeting Ville Leino.

In my opinion, and just from watching the game, the Griffins did not play that terribly. Once they were down, it did sorta look like they gave up. But then they would get an opportunity and score, and then they’d be right back in it. It wasn’t enough, though. Who knows what the outcome of the game would have been if the officiating had even been marginal. I have a feeling, based on the play of Jimmy Howard, that they still would have lost. But have almost an entire period without any five on five play really changes a game.