When you have 16 games taking place at the same time, the league digs deep into it's bag of refs.  

There were some really, really bad misses and calls last night - the stick throw is just the most blatant and most critical because the Wings had a great look at a goal which was interfered with and then immediately followed up by a goal to the other team.  

Same thing with the Chariot penalty for his helmet coming off: 

Rule 9.6:

A player on the ice whose helmet comes off during play shall be assessed a minor penalty if he does not exit the playing surface, or retrieve and replace his helmet properly on his head (with or without his chin strap fastened), within a reasonable period of time. It is reasonable if a player who is making a play on the puck or who is in the vicinity of the puck and engaged in the play at the time his helmet comes off, takes the opportunity to complete the play before either exiting the ice or retrieving and replacing his helmet.

Not to mention when the Seattle goalie lost his helmet but play continued to go on.  THAT'S when you should be blowing the whistle, ref!

The only thing I hate more than the other 31 (ie too many) NHL is teams is the NHL itself.  The inconsistency of its referees just underscores how much the league sucks.  The worst thing is, between the NFL and NBA the NHL ought to have enough examples to show them how to run a successful league, but instead its just a first-day-on-the-job clown show year after year.