Officiating in the National Hockey League is somewhat enigmatic. There are games that make you think that things are trending in the right direction, and the very next night, it can seem that the officials had a parlay with a betting site that they desperately needed to hit. From game to game, and sometimes even shift to shift, you might see identical plays called one way, and then the other entirely. The only thing consistent about the refs in the top hockey league in the world is their inconsistency.
Consistency wasn’t quite the issue with the officiating in Thursday night’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. The officiating choices were flat-out dangerous.
Kucherov is staring at numbers the entire way, this isn’t a case of a last-second turn putting a player in a vulnerable position. Kaiden Guhle left the game after this hit, he didn’t return, and as of this writing we’re still waiting for an update on his status. This was a clear-cut boarding penalty, at least of the minor variety, and yet the officials let it go.
I suppose you can give them a modicum of credit for consistency, in fact, because they also let a very similar hit go unpunished early in the second period.
Again, numbers the entire way, and a clear-cut boarding minor. Luckily, on this particular hit, Jake Evans was no worse for wear, and was able to finish the game. Was Matt Dumba emboldened by the non-call against Kucherov in making this hit? It’s hard to say that with any degree of certainty, but you can generally expect players to take more liberties like this if the standard from the officials is to let it go.
It would be tough to argue that officiating cost the Canadiens that game – their poor second period was a more appropriate culprit. At any rate, this isn’t really about affixing blame for the loss, but rather the officials neglecting their duty to recognize and call illegal hits. These were easy calls, and the refs were lucky that the game didn’t devolve into a complete circus due to not calling them.
But hey, maybe big-name players like Nikita Kucherov simply get the benefit of the doubt a lot…
Community Note: I realize that I commented on my last BSM article and noted that I am trying to complain less about the officials on the podcast. The irony of posting this article a mere two days later is not lost on me. I felt this was a special case, so here’s to hoping that the remaining games aren’t as blatantly demanding of referee criticism as this last one.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you typically get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Saturday night, when the Toronto Maple Leafs will be in Montreal for the final meeting of the season between historic rivals.
