Leafs captain takes a subtle shot at officials after blowout loss in Game 1
Last night's Leafs/Lightning game was not without controversy. There were a number of calls in the game that were not only head-scratchers, but perhaps a cause for concern in future games during the series. Wes McCauley made his impact felt early and often, awarding the Bolts 6 power plays to the Leafs' 2 until late in the game before allowing the Leafs 2 additional power play opportunities when the game was long out of reach.
The Bolts were the beneficiaries of lopsided officiating once again and you don't have to look very hard to find evidence of that. Take these 3 plays for instance. One of the worst "slashing" calls I've ever seen in my life, a blatant missed tripping call RIGHT in front of the official and a "cross-check" that was more of a light shove followed by a dive than anything else.
These weren't all of the examples from the game, but I believe they go a long way to prove that Wes McCauley carries a clear bias against the Leafs and will do anything and everything in his power to see to it that they don't succeed in this series.
Following the game, Leafs captain John Tavares was careful to choose his words wisely when talking about the officials in hopes of avoiding a potential fine. Still, I think he found a solid way of criticizing the officials and shining a light on last night's game without crossing any lines and risking a fine.
Tavares did expand on those comments, likely so that things weren't interpreted in a way that could land him a hefty fine for publicly slamming the officials. For a guy as smart as JT is, he probably also knows that being blunt about it wouldn't have helped the Leafs in any way throughout the remainder of the series and playoffs.
At the end of the day, these games matter. These aren't regular season games. The Leafs have had a tough enough time getting over the hump as it is. They don't need to be playing against two teams every single night - their opponents AND the officials. The NHL needs to get this straightened out, and in a hurry.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 1025 ANSWERS Leafs captain takes a subtle shot at officials after blowout loss in Game 1 Do you agree with Tavares about the officiating last night? | ||
| Yes | 877 | 85.6 % |
| No | 47 | 4.6 % |
| No more excuses - just win | 101 | 9.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
