The newest rant on this topic comes from Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy, who, following his team's loss to the New York Islanders in Game 4 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs second round series, criticized the refereeing in the game. Cassidy, on the other hand, went a step farther, claiming that his club has been the victim of bad officiating throughout the playoffs, possibly even before facing the Islanders in the second round.
Although I can only surmise as to what prompted Cassidy to make such a statement, I believe the contact between Bruins veteran player David Krejci and Islanders star forward Mathew Barzal had a role in his dissatisfaction with league officials. Krejci, who has a history of back problems, was the recipient of three unanswered cross checks to the back from the Islanders forward, and replied with a spear to Barzal following the third or fourth cross check.
On the play, Krejci was given a major penalty, which was later reduced to a two-minute minor penalty, while Barzal received no punishment other than that which was handed by Krejci himself.
The Bruins can take some heart in the notion that the NHL's inept refereeing is not confined to calls made against them, as irritating as it may have been. On Saturday, during the other game on the schedule, a game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning, there was a particularly heinous call that beyond belief.
