Getty ImagesThe frustration for the Chicago Blackhawks continues.

First, it was the referees. Now, it's the play of the Detroit Red Wings, who took a 2-1 series lead with a 3-1 victory Monday night. Just take a look at the penalties called in the third period -- all five on Chicago. Detroit did their part, killing off four Blackhawks power plays and putting the game out of reach in the second period.

The Red Wings took the game by the neck midway through the second period and never let go. Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart to give Detroit a 2-0 lead. Nyquist's goal was a thing of beauty:

In the third period, the Blackhawks woke up after a questionable hit from behind by Niklas Hjalmarsson left Johan Franzen down on the ice, and Patrick Kane scored on the ensuing rush. Just over a minute later, Andrew Shaw's goal was waived off for goaltender interference and the momentum swung back in the Red Wings' favor for good.

Jimmy Howard (39 saves) was again solid and the Red Wings continued to receive contributions from their depth, a reason why teams succeed this time of year.

While the Blackhawks will need to quickly move past Game 3, the Red Wings -- halfway to the Western Conference Final -- know there's still work to be done and their next two wins will be the toughest to come by.

"We won tonight, but we've got to be back at it on Thursday," Patrick Eaves told NBCSN's Pierre McGuire afterward.

"Let's be honest, we haven't done anything yet," said Mike Babcock.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

In Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, with the Blackhawks trailing by a goal in the third period, this happened:

Andrew Shaw thought the Blackhawks had knotted the game, moments after Patrick Kane scored to cut the Detroit Red Wings’ lead to 2-1. But a split-second after the puck bounced past Jimmy Howard and over the goal line, referee Brad Watson waived off the score on account of goalie interference.

Watch it again. If there’s any interference, it’s minimal, and occurs after Jakub Kindl bumps Shaw deeper into the crease. It’s close to being a complete phantom call, wiping away a goal and changing the momentum in the game – Pavel Datsyuk made it 3-1 Detroit just over a minute later.

The rule, via the NHL rule book:

69.1 Interference on the Goalkeeper - This rule is based on the premise that an attacking player’s position, whether inside or outside the crease, should not, by itself, determine whether a goal should be allowed or disallowed. In other words, goals scored while attacking players are standing in the crease may, in appropriate circumstances be allowed. Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease. Incidental contact with a goalkeeper will be permitted, and resulting goals allowed, when such contact is initiated outside of the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact. The rule will be enforced exclusively in accordance with the on-ice judgment of the Referee(s), and not by means of video replay or review.

... If an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.

What made the call even a bit more specious: The Kane goal was scored with Johan Franzen down in the Wings’ attacking zone after a cross-check from behind by Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, which was un-penalized. Was this a makeup call? Hooray for "game management!"

We’ve banged this drum more frequently and fervently than Dave Grohl recording “Nevermind”, but once more with feeling: There’s absolutely no reason why goalie interference isn’t a reviewable play via a coaches’ challenge.

Unless your reason is that referees’ blown calls will be made more obvious through this check and balance from the War Room. Because they would be, and rightfully so, because sometimes they steal goals from a team due to their incompetence. Whether that's the case here is your call.

The road to the Stanley Cup is fraught with peril, and much of that peril happens in and around the mouth.

Hockey players earned the gap-toothed stereotype fair and square, so it's never all that surprising when a player takes a puck, glove or stick to the mouth and loses a few teeth in the process -- but this postseason has been off the charts. The Montreal Canadiens/Ottawa Senators series alone stole seven teeth from the mouths of four players.

And it didn't end there. Players have been losing teeth all over the place. It's almost too much to keep track of.

But we have to try, friends. We must. And with that in mind, we introduce NHL tooth watch, our running tally of who's losing teeth and how many they're losing.

Total Teeth Lost this postseason: 16

And here are the incidents that got us to where we are:

The last goalie to make the cover of EA Sports’ NHL series? John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers for NHL 97, of course. Which brings us to the latest update for the NHL 14 fan vote, and the fact that two of the four players remaining in the vote are men with masks:

In one half of the bracket, it’s Marty Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils against Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings; on the other half, it’s New York Islanders star John Tavares against Columbus Blue Jackets Vezina favorite Sergei Bobrovsky.

Datsyuk barely beat Joffrey Lupul in the quarterfinals. Tavares ousted Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers. Brodeur beat out James van Riemsdyk, while Bobrovsky eliminated Taylor Hall.

Were we to wager on the final two: Datsyuk vs. Bobrovsky. Although an all-goalie final would be aces.

Fans can vote an unlimited number of times at NHL.com/CoverVote. The round closes on May 26 at 11:59pm ET. This year fans can double their voting power by using these player specific

Getty ImagesHome ice advantage has been a palpable asset in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the second round alone, home teams are 9-1, with the Detroit Red Wings owning the lone road victory, over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 to even their series.

The Red Wings return home for Game 3 on Monday night. Except it’s the Blackhawks that have owned their house for the last four seasons.

“It’s a fun place to play. There’s a lot of history here,” said winger Patrick Kane on Monday.

Here’s the history for the Hawks in Detroit’s home barn: 9-1-1 in their last 11 visits dating back to Oct. 9, 2009. That’s the last regulation win the Red Wings had at home against Chicago, after defeating them three times in the 2009 Western Conference Final.

Chicago has scored 33 goals in that 11-game span to Detroit’s 19. But the games were mostly well contested: The Blackhawks had three shootout wins and an overtime victory, while Detroit added an overtime win of its own.

So why do the Blackhawks play so well in Detroit (outside of our working theory, which is that Patrick Sharp stays beautiful through octopus gunk facial treatments)?

Puck Treasures looks to find those hidden hockey treasures from the past and present, and gives them their proper remembrance. Seen an interesting piece of hockey apparel? Send us an email at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.

Perhaps the Stanley Cup Playoffs have you feeling flush. Or stopped up. Perhaps you’re bowled over from a steady stream of action, or a swirl of emotion that you can’t just seem to put a lid on. Fear not, fellow puckheads: The Hockey Toilet is your throne of games …

Currently available for $17 on eBay, this “Unique Ice Hockey Design Acrylic Resin Oval Toilet Seat” is exactly as we just described it. It’s a standard round toilet seat that fits all manufacturers round and oval commodes.

It features a seemingly ancient (given the equipment) game scene in which a goalie appears to be looking through the net on his hands and knees at an offensive player (in an old Team USA jersey perhaps?) with the puck. This is not a traditional butterfly, that’s for sure.

But what makes this crapper unique? How is this any different from a custom-made NHL toilet cover like this Red Wings one? Behold the seat:

eBayYes, you poop in the goal. Pretty much on the goalie. All of those nights when that sieve lost the game for your team? Scatological vengeance is yours. (“Scatological Vengeance”, incidentally, being the best punk band name never used.)

OK, so it’s not a $5,300 Maple Leafs Gardens toilet. But you try finding a Unique Ice Hockey Design Acrylic Resin Oval Toilet Seat for less than $17, buster.

• Wondering how Daniel Alfredsson was so open for the game-tying goal last night? The photo above pretty much explains it, but here's a full breakdown. [Pensburgh]

• Good news for Boston: Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden are back at practice. [Boston]

• The Buffalo Sabres have signed up for another year of John Scott. [Sabres]

• Led by Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Sweden took home the gold medal at the World Hockey Championships. They celebrated with a bunch of gold helmets. [PITB]

• With the gold medal, Sweden moved from fourth to first the IIHF's world ranking. And Switzerland moved up to seventh. [IIHF]

• Viktor Stalberg and Michal Handzus will be in the lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3. [Chicago Tribune]

• AHL president David Andrews thinks NBC should mention the impact his league has had on the Bruins' young defensive guns. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

• Speaking of the AHL and the Providence Bruins, the league has announced that Graham Mink has been suspended 2 games for the match penalty he earned in this brawl. [AHL]

The NHL announced the finalists for the 2012-13 Mark Messier NHL
Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone, because only our greatest NHL awards have title sponsors.

Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators, Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks are the three finalists for the award, which is presented to “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season,” the National Hockey League announced today.

According to the NHL:

“Mark Messier solicits suggestions from club and League personnel and NHL fans to compile a list of potential candidates. However, the selection of the three finalists and ultimate winner is Messier’s alone.”

We’re rather enamored with the idea that Mark Messier has a lemonade stand-like booth outside of NHL regular-season games with a handwritten “ASK ME ABOUT MY LEADERSHIP AWARD” sign above it. Typical conversation goes like this:

MESS: “So who is your pick for the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season?”

FAN: “I think Ryan Callahan might be one the Rangers' greatest captains and leaders.”

MESS: [Laughs dismissively] Yeah, I supposed he's OK ... if you like guys that have never guaranteed a victory in the Eastern Conference Finals and on his way to breaking a 54-year curse to bring the Stanley Cup to New York. Also, not bald enough, sorry. NEXT!”

Who wins this Mess?