Officials refuse to call a penalty against the Hurricanes after blatant trip on Bunting
The officials were at it again on Thursday evening in Toronto, either putting the whistles away or just turning the other way to avoid calling a penalty against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The latter seems to be the case, as the Hurricanes had been gifted two calls in the first period against Michael Bunting (roughing) and Ilya Lyubushkin (holding), but it was a non-call in the second that really sealed the deal.
A nice poke check by Michael Bunting just inside of the Leafs' blueline looked like it was going to spring the Leafs on an odd-man rush in the opposite direction when Canes defender Brett Pesce got his stick between the feet of Bunting, tripping him up in the middle of the ice, clear for all to see. The evidence was on the ice, as Pesce skated away without his lumber.
Despite the very clear infraction, no arm went up from the officials and Bunting was HOT, giving an earful to referee Chris Lee after the play and nothing came from the opportunity, unfortunately for the Buds.
When is it acceptable to begin holding officials accountable for their actions? Yes, the Leafs were winning the game 2-0 at the time, yes it was Bunting who the infraction was against and yes, we know that Bunting draws a LOT of penalties, but what is the purpose of a rule book if the officials won't call it?
At least the fans at Scotiabank Arena held the officials accountable with a chorus of boos raining down from the stands.
| POLL | ||
MARS 17 | 466 ANSWERS Officials refuse to call a penalty against the Hurricanes after blatant trip on Bunting Was Pesce's trip on Bunting a penalty? | ||
| 100% of the time | 339 | 72.7 % |
| Borderline at best | 47 | 10.1 % |
| Are the officials blind? | 61 | 13.1 % |
| Rigged. | 19 | 4.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
