It’s only been six days since the NHL playoffs started, but officiating is already catching the eye of some teams for the wrong reasons. The inconsistency in certain decisions in terms of penalties and goals seems to leave some players and coaches confused.
Friday night, it was the Edmonton Oilers who had a lot to say about the call of some penalties and obviously, the controversial winning goal that was awarded, even though Gabriel Vilardi seemed to have touched the puck higher than the height permitted a few seconds earlier.
“The best player in the world [Connor McDavid] is two feet out of play and he raises his arm because he knows the puck hit the stick, otherwise he wouldn’t raise his arm, he would continue to play. In the end, I’m going to believe the best player in the world who is very close to the game,” head coach Jay Woodcroft snapped, visibly disagreeing with the officials’ conclusion.
Even the inconsistency in penalties awarded had left star player Leon Draisaitl in the lurch.
“I’m not too sure what the standards are right now…”
“Referees don’t penalize obvious knee-to-knee contact directly in front of him, then they award a slashing penalty. It wasn’t smart on my part, I agree, but I’m not sure what the standards are right now, ”he admitted in reference to a game that involved Drew Doughty and Connor McDavid.
Barely 24 hours later, the Lightning seems to have been the victim of a controversial decision. Brayden Point expected to double their lead late in the second period, but an early whistle deprived the Lightning of that important goal.
After the match, it was Jon Cooper’s turn to imitate Woodcroft and express his complete incomprehension of the officials’ decision.
“I have no idea why he whistled, laughed Jon Cooper visibly stunned. I was in shock, there are 20,000 people in the amphitheater who saw the loose puck. I don’t know what he had to gain by whistling. I don’t understand. If you look at everyone whistling fast through the NHL, he’s probably the fastest,” Cooper quipped, fumbling for his words a few times.
