Paul Maurice calls out officiating after OT loss to Leafs
In what could be considered an anomaly, the Leafs had more powerplays than their opposition by a significant amount last night. Unfortunately, the Leafs couldn't capitalize and run up the score, going just 2 for 7 with the man advantage against Florida, while the Panthers had just 3 powerplays, converting on one of them. In total, there were 16 penalties handed out between the Leafs and Panthers last night.
Following the penalty-filled affair, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice commented on the officiating saying, "I didn't know what the hell those guys were doing tonight, but it wasn't Florida Panther-friendly. It had nothing to do with my players. It had to do with me and a relationship that I have with one of the referees."
Those are some harsh words for the officials and one has to wonder if a fine is coming Maurice's way as just a few weeks ago, Sheldon Keefe was fined $25K for berating officials during the game. It would be surprising if Maurice isn't fined for his comments as he implied that one of the officials was using a personal vendetta against him to fuel a lot of the penalty calls against the Panthers.
Anyone who watched the game will know that there were some questionable calls and some missed calls, but that many of the Panthers' infractions were legitimate. The one truly curious call was when Sam Bennett pushed Ilya Samsonov's stick away in the second period and somehow Timothy Liljegren was sent off for interference. Maurice calling out the officials for singling the Panthers out is laughable - especially in a game against the Leafs, who are often on the wrong end of some horrendous officiating.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 18 | 430 ANSWERS Paul Maurice calls out officiating after OT loss to Leafs Do you believe that the Leafs were favoured in last night's game because of Maurice's relationship with one of the officials? | ||
| Yes, it certainly seemed that way | 75 | 17.4 % |
| No - it's the Leafs we're talking about here.. | 224 | 52.1 % |
| LOFL.. | 131 | 30.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
