I’m not one to shy away from criticizing officials. Anyone who has followed this site long enough will know that all too well. This year I’ve tried to tone down my criticism of the zebras, but I’m not going to hold my tongue on this one.
In the second period against the Ducks, Greg Pateryn was caused to bleed from the mouth after a clear cut boarding infraction committed by Andrew Cogliano. There was no call on the play, and as you’re about to see, there very damn well should have been.
Cogliano hit on Pateryn. pic.twitter.com/tKRDN6RGZ5
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 3, 2016
Pretty blatant right? Not only was there no call, but as you can see, the official is staring right at it. It is a travesty that a trained NHL official could stare right at that hit from barely five feet away, and think it fair to call nothing. And it gets worse…
When Max Pacioretty came to the defense of a bloodied Pateryn, still kneeling on the ice in pain, he was given a minor for roughing. That was the only call the officials decided to make. An absolutely putrid display of officiating. You think it would stop there, but oh no my friends.
Michel Therrien was understandably upset about the situation, and so the officials tagged him with an extra two. A very dangerous hit by one team, yet they find themselves with four minutes of power play time, and no punishment whatsoever. He probably went a little far, but can you blame him?
Therrien swearing at the ref and then realizing that’s not a good idea. pic.twitter.com/Ieoytum2HU
— AOL KEYWORD: Mike (@mikeFAIL) March 3, 2016
I know, the Canadiens aren’t going to make the playoffs. But just because they are all but mathematically eliminated, doesn’t mean they should have to tolerate unpunished cheap shots from other teams. It’s basically a microcosm of how the Habs season has gone, but the officials should be ashamed in this situation.
The Ducks didn’t score on the four minutes that the refs gifted them, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that someone might get legitimately hurt, especially if the Ducks think they can get away with crap like that. It is squarely on the shoulders of these officials now if this game devolves into a donnybrook.
After all, it is their job to set the standard of play in a game, and apparently the standard they will tolerate in this game is one where players are ramming each other face-first into the boards from behind.
And that’s not dangerous at all.
