from Mike Boone of Hockey Inside/Out,

At least Canadiens fans will have something to bitch about all summer long.
Actually, a few things:
On the sequence leading to Mika Zibanejad’s goal, why was the faceoff on the wrong side of the ice?
Why did the goal count if replays show Zibanejad’s left skate moving to redirect the puck?
Why weren’t two icings waved off late in the third period?
All leading to the fundamental question: Did the zebras screw the Canadiens out of a win that would have tied this series?

Chris Nilan routinely refers to NHL referees as “donkeys”.

The former Canadiens tough guy enlivens his very good TSN690 talk show by making “hee-haw” sounds any time the discussion turns to officiating.

Hockey probably has the worst officiating of any major sport. From the whistles that are buried deep in referees’ pockets when the playoffs start to the guys whom Don Cherry dismisses as “failed referees” booting players out of the faceoff circle, there are a multitude of questionable calls that leave fans of one team or another feeling aggrieved.

But did officiating cost the Canadiens Game 4 … and probably any realistic hope of winning the series?

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