In the third period, the officials fell for an embellishment by Lightning defenseman Cal Foote, who had acted as though Leafs forward David Kampf had tried to take his head off with a high stick that had caught him in the shoulder pad. Fortunately for Tampa, and unfortunately for the Leafs, the Lightning would score on the ensuing power play to tie the game in the third period with the game needing overtime to reach a conclusion.
Tampa held the advantage in powerplays over the Leafs, going 1/3 while the Leafs went 0/1 on their lone attempt. There were several call-worthy infractions late in the game and in OT that the officials should have called, including a missed elbow from Mikhail Sergachev on Alexander Kerfoot and this flagrant holding infraction from Alex Killorn on Auston Matthews.
Now, I get not wanting to call a penalty in overtime in an elimination game, but when the offense is THIS blatant, it simply HAS to be called. This entire series, the official refused to put the whistles away, calling absolutely everything through 5 games. Now, all of a sudden, they're putting the whistles away for Game 6?
I sincerely hope that the Leafs come out with a chip on their shoulders on Saturday at home in Toronto for Game 7. It really is time to change the narrative. It's just sad that officiating (or a lack thereof) is largely what cost the Leafs in this one.
POLL | ||
13 MAI | 916 ANSWERS Alex Killorn holds Auston Matthews by the jersey for several seconds in OT and gets away with it Will the Leafs win Game 7 in Toronto on Saturday? | ||
Yes | 706 | 77.1 % |
No, they're cursed | 210 | 22.9 % |
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