from Joe Haggerty of NBCSports Boston,

Like it or not, the officiating has become a major topic of conversation, and consternation, in the Bruins second-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Major non-calls in the moments of truth in both Game 2 and Game 4 have been extremely problematic for the Bruins and really go beyond the simple “things will even out eventually” mistakes that commonly occur on both sides during a heated playoff series.

It’s something that’s clearly aroused the ire of the Bruins players, the Bruins head coach and a visibly steamed Bruins President that was waving his arms and yelling in the Bruins management booth as things slipped away in the third period of Friday night’s Game 4 at TD Garden.

“We tell them not to [dwell on the calls], but we’re human beings. It’s game after game after game,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy after Game 4 when asked how hard it is for his players to move past the officiating clearly hurting them in the four games played thus far against the Lightning. “We’re all kind of tired of talking about it. I think I heard someone say, suck it up and play, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to suck it up and play. I thought we did a good job with that. There was no unsportsmanlike [conducts], no warnings [from the officials] and we just tried to keep playing. That’s that.”

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