Montreal Canadiens in Other News: Missed Calls, Even Series, AHL Departures

Missed Calls a Continuing Issue

Needless to say, the officiating over the course of this Semi-Finals series hasn’t been good. Actually, that’s too generous, not only has it not been good, it’s been downright atrocious. I’m not entirely sure what issue Referee Chris Lee has with Montreal, but it seems as though he carries a grudge of sorts due to the numerous missed calls directly in his line of sight. While a blatant, and I mean blatant missed high stick on Corey Perry was salvaged by Anderson’s OT winner in Game 3, Game 4 didn’t fare quite as well. From Suzuki getting punched in the face by McNabb, to an overall hesitancy to make little, if any calls, it was certainly a bizarre sight, to say the least.

NHL officiating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has seen its fair share of controversies over the past couple of years, and its to be expected that the right call isn’t always going to be made (were all human, after all). Even still, certain calls have managed to leave a bad taste in the mouth of many hockey fans, something both Vegas and Montreal are no stranger to. After a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their first season in 2018, Vegas fell in 7 in the first round against the San Jose Sharks the following season, after blowing a 3-0 lead (and 3-1 lead in the series) in the third period following an arguable Game Misconduct call against former Knights center Cody Eakin.

With Vegas looking to make their second Finals appearance in just four seasons, the Canadiens now find themselves on the receiving end of some dubious officiating, and they’re expectedly not very pleased. With Lee likely to continue officiating the rest of the series (in spite of petitions saying otherwise) it remains to be seen how the tone and standard for penalties will shift, but if it continues along with this current trend, it looks like Montreal will have to fight and fight hard to catch any breaks.