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Another bad night for refs puts Bruins on the brink – Boston Herald
June 7, 2019 at 1:46 am
Another bad night for refs puts Bruins on the brink
Steve Conroy
PUBLISHED: June 7, 2019 at 1:46 am | UPDATED: June 7, 2019 at 7:48 am
Categories: Bruins, Sports
BOSTON MA. - JUNE 6: The refs await a moment to leave the ice as the Bruins take on the Blues in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Garden on June 6, 2019 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
Before we get into the sorry state of NHL officiating, let’s get something out of the way in the wake of the Bruins’ 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final:
The Bruins’ level of execution in the offensive zone on Thursday night did not match the high energy they brought to the Garden, especially in the first period when they were all over the Blues. They followed up with a terribly flat second period. They did nothing with their three power plays. And when you can manage only one goal, chances are you won’t win.
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So there is plenty of introspection the Bruins, who trail the series 3-2, need to do between now and Sunday’s Game 6 at what surely will be a rocking Enterprise Center, where the Stanley Cup could be hoisted by the Blues.
Now, let’s get into it.
Game 5 was the latest installment of the league’s two-month nightmare as the game officials had a hand yet again in deciding a playoff game, this time by keeping their whistles in their pockets. That’s what St. Louis coach Craig Berube kindly asked for after the B’s 7-2 victory in Game 3, and he has gotten his wish. After receiving 14 power plays in the first three games, the Bruins had two in Game 4 and three in Game 5.
There wasn’t a ton to complain about in Game 4, but on Thursday, was there ever.
In the first period, Ivan Barbashev got away with a clear head shot on Marcus Johansson that resembled the infamous Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard, the big difference being Johansson wasn’t knocked unconscious. But he had just released the puck and was in a vulnerable position when Barbashev came in and got nothing but noggin.
In the second period, Torey Krug also took a high hit from Zach Sanford when he didn’t have the puck. Sanford did catch more body than Barbashev, but it was a highly questionable hit. Then with time winding down in the second, Oskar Sundquvist grabbed a hold of Krug’s arm and would not let go, resulting in a golden chance for Alex Pietrangelo that David Krejci had to stop to keep the game 1-0.
But the piece de resistance came in the third period. Noel Acciari was playing the puck along the right boards when Tyler Bozak came in from behind him and took his left leg out from under him in a slew-foot type of trip that flipped Acciari and shook him up, his head crashing back to the ice. It was such an obvious penalty that Bozak already was starting to plead his case until he realized he somehow got away with it. A few seconds later, with Acciari still down (he was ordered to go to the quiet room but later said he was fine), David Perron scored what turned out to be the game-winner.
With that, Bruins team president Cam Neely was caught on camera whipping a water bottle at the wall in his private box on the ninth floor, and fans started showering the ice surface with various items.
Coach Bruce Cassidy, who usually tries to be diplomatic when it comes to officiating, did not hold back after the game.
“I believe these (refs) are at this level because they’ve earned the right to be here, and they should be getting the best, but I mean, the narrative changed after Game 3 with a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition,” Cassidy fumed. “It just seems to have changed it. The non-call on Acciari … it’s a slew-foot. My guy’s gone. The spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it was blatant. Big effect on the game.
“This is happening. I’m a fan of the game. This is the National Hockey League getting a black eye with their officiating this playoffs. Here’s another one that’s going to be talked about. I thought it was a great hockey game. That (non-call), there’s time, but it really made it (hard) for us to get the win tonight, so I’m disappointed. … It was egregious.”
He wasn’t wild about the missed head shots, either.
“Well, those are the hits they want to get out of the game, correct? That’s what I hear a lot about. They missed a couple tonight,” Cassidy said.
And he wasn’t done. Asked what was being said on the bench during the delay as the ice was being cleaned, Cassidy kept ripping.
“What was being said was that they missed the effing call, that’s what was being said on the bench, for obvious reasons,” Cassidy said. “But after that, we had to settle down and play. … Listen, we thought we got screwed, but you’ve got to keep playing, and we did.”
Asked about the Bozak no-call, NHL head of officiating Stephen Walkom said, “We don’t make comments on judgement calls within games. There are hundreds of judgement calls in games. The official on the play, he viewed it, and he didn’t view it as a penalty at the time.”
At time time? No word on how the official viewed it after some reflection.
The B’s finally got on the board with a Jake DeBrusk goal but couldn’t get the next one, which made the blown call on Bozak that much more important.
“It’s a missed call, and it has a big (part) in the outcome of the game. They score a goal off it. That ends up being the game-winner. It’s just kind of embarrassing,” Acciari said.
This has happened far too much this postseason. The litany of mistakes is just too long, from the incorrect major in San Jose in Game 7 against Vegas, to the missed major on Charlie McAvoy’s hit against Columbus, to the hand pass goal by San Jose against St. Louis.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said before this series started the league will to take a long look at video review. It’s a tough game to officiate because of the speed. But what should have been penalties on at least Bozak and Barbashev seemed pretty hard to miss by refs Steve Kozari or Kelly Sutherland.
But they were missed, or ignored, and the refs once again upstaged the teams playing for the Stanley Cup.
