Poor officiating playing a huge role in Leafs' current losing skid
There's no question that the Maple Leafs need to be better, but with the series of horrendous calls against them and a slew of non-calls benefitting the opposition, it's also obvious that the Leafs are fighting a losing battle with NHL officials as well.
There have been quite a few instances during the Leafs' last two games against Los Angeles and Boston where the referees quite frankly have not done their jobs, or have done an abysmal job of calling the rule book. Once again, the inconsistency is rampant and there have been a lot of situations where they're showing a clear bias against the Leafs.
I know, it sounds like sour grapes, right? The Leafs are on a 3-game losing streak, having come up short against Nashville, Los Angeles and Boston and Leaf fans feel the need to make excuses for them? Well, there are sure to be some who will spin it that way, but take a look at some of these plays and tell me I'm wrong.
In the clip blow, Matt Roy - who was responsible for ending Nick Robertson's season last year with a questionable play in a similar area of the ice - shoves Timothy Liljegren into the boards from behind. No call on the play, despite this being one of the most dangerous plays in hockey.
It's just one missed call, right? That's not much to base such accusations against NHL officials on. Sometimes they simply miss the play or have a poor angle on it and can't be certain that it's the right call, right? Ok, if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt there, how about this call against Tyler Bertuzzi for tripping?
Another angle clearly shows that Bertuzzi's stick is nowhere near the skates and that the Kings player embellishes to draw the call.
Bertuzzi can't believe it - and rightfully so.
Not enough evidence for you? How about this play involving a pair of identical hits - one on a Leafs forward, followed immediately by one on a Kings forward? Kempe drills Jarnkrok with a cross check that goes uncalled right in front of the official, which was fine, but when T.J. Brodie executes the exact same play 1 second later, it's a penalty.
Obviously, this one was going to be mentioned as well. How on EARTH does Wes McCauley not see Brad Marchand trip Timothy Liljegren?? HE'S RIGHT ON THE PLAY!
Again - there are times when referees miss something, but it shouldn't be happening with the frequency that it does, especially during Leafs games. I'm positive that if I dug a little deeper, I could find you similar examples from games earlier this season as well.
NHL officials need to be held accountable for their actions. If you're going to call the rulebook, great. If you're not going to call the rulebook, fine.. whatever. But if you're going to pick and choose like these officials so clearly do against the Leafs, something's gotta give. Maybe it's a conversation that Brad Treliving needs to have with the league or maybe it's something that ownership needs to say to the league. Whatever the case, the Leafs are getting the short end of the stick it seems, night in and night out with these officials and something needs to change - and what's worse? It's happening elsewhere in the league as well.
How the NHL doesn't see any of this as an issue is beyond me.
| POLL | ||
3 NOVEMBRE | 715 ANSWERS Poor officiating playing a huge role in Leafs' current losing skid Do you think there are NHL officials who are clearly biased against the Leafs? | ||
| Oh 100% I do | 569 | 79.6 % |
| No, I think it's pure coincidence | 69 | 9.7 % |
| It's tough to say | 77 | 10.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
