Referees trying to steal Game 6 from the Leafs with soft call on T.J. Brodie
Through 40 minutes, the Leafs have taken a 1-0 lead into the locker room and are now just 20 minutes away from advancing to the 2nd round for the first time in nearly 20 years. There is still plenty of work to be done, and a lot can happen in 20 minutes. Plus, if the officiating is any indication, the Leafs may have to be double-careful to avoid putting Tampa on the power play again.
During the second period of tonight's game, T.J. Brodie was entrenched in a rather routine net-front battle, attempting to prevent Bolts center Anthony Cirelli getting to the net. During the net-front battle, Brodie and Cirelli locked feet while jostling for position, as we often see in these types of battles. The only problem was, once Circelli fell, the arm went up and Tampa went to the power play.
If you want to talk about soft calls during an elimination game, that's certainly one of them. It's looking more and more likely that if the Leafs want to beat Tampa tonight, they'll have to find a way to take this one out of the referees' hands as well.
At the time of this piece, both the Leafs and Lightning have received two power play opportunities - both going 0/2. The Leafs got a pair of power plays early in the first on legitimate calls. No surprise in this one that Tampa was going to get the next two. It's just expected at this point.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 29 | 354 ANSWERS Referees trying to steal Game 6 from the Leafs with soft call on T.J. Brodie Did Brodie deserve a penalty for this net-front battle with Cirelli? | ||
| Not a chance | 213 | 60.2 % |
| Yeah, I have no problem with the call | 46 | 13 % |
| Soooooft | 95 | 26.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
