Leafs legend publicly slams officiating in Leafs/Bolts game, raising questions of game-management following controversial loss
There were a number of reasons to be frustrated with the outcome of last night's Leafs/Lightning game in Tampa. You could argue that Murray let in a softie in overtime, that Matthews' giveaway during 3-on-3 or the Leafs failing to capitalize on their several powerplay opportunities were all the primary reasons for the loss. The reality is that the Leafs were firmly in control of the game for much of the first two periods and the NHL officials seemed more intent on making the game closer than it should have been than actually calling a fair game.
There was plenty of evidence of game-management in this one and even the grandmother of GM Kyle Dubas took to Twitter to slam the NHL officials for ruining a perfectly good game. However, Gramma Dubie was not the only one up in arms over how the referees handled this one. Leafs legend Darcy Tucker also had an issue with some of the things Tampa got away with. Tucker also aired his frustrations at the end of the third period, presumably after Mitch Marner was cross-checked in the head/neck with no call made in a game where seemingly everything was being called.
The issues with officiating in Tampa go back to the playoffs last season. For much of the Leafs' 7-game series with the Lightning, the referees seemed intent on keeping the series closer than it should have been, making phantom calls on the Leafs, allowing the Bolts to essentially get away with murder and swaying the outcome of close games in Tampa's favour with lopsided penalty scaling in certain games at key times.
Honestly, I'm not sure how much longer the NHL can get away with giving the officials impunity and absolving them of any accountability. At the VERY least, officials should be made available to the media to answer for their horrendous decision-making after the games. At the end of the day, your job is to call the game - not alter the outcome.
| POLL | ||
4 DECEMBRE | 1926 ANSWERS Leafs legend publicly slams officiating in Leafs/Bolts game, raising questions of game-management following controversial loss Does the NHL have an obligation to hold the officials accountable for their actions, just at it does with players? | ||
| Yes | 1884 | 97.8 % |
| No | 42 | 2.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
