The Montreal Canadiens came up short against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, losing 2-1 in overtime. It was a tough game between two very good teams but the deciding factor seemed to be a questionable call late that gave Minnesota a power play in overtime that they were able to turn into the game-winning goal.
The play in question came shortly after the Canadiens had just tied it up at one, and Cole Caufield was called for slashing on Quinn Hughes after his stick broke. However, it didn't look like Caufield hit the stick with much force, and even Martin St. Louis thought Hughes sold it a bit.
After practice on Wednesday, Caufield gave his thoughts on the penalty. While he acknowledged that it is a tough job the refs have, there might be more accountability if refs have to answer for some of the calls they make.
"They take their job really seriously and we respect them for what they do," Caufield said. "At the same time, it's just knowing the time of the game and how the game has been played up to that point. They got a job to do and if they still think that was the right call, I think at some point maybe they should have to answer questions themselves and explain what they thought or what they saw versus them just putting their hand up in the air."
Cole Caufield grants the refs grace, but penalty calls continue to stack up against the Montreal Canadiens
There is no question that there are going to be questionable calls at times or calls that fans won't agree with the refs on. Over an entire season, that usually balances out between the Canadiens and their opponents.
However, early in this season, the Canadiens have been on the wrong side of too many questionable calls. After the Wild game, the Canadiens have been called for the third-most penalties with 93 and are behind only the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks.
What is interesting is that when looking at the net penalties (penalties taken versus penalties drawn), the Florida Panthers are +2 and the Anaheim Ducks are -8, while the Canadiens are a league-worst -18.
This is not the only penalty call late in a game that has been considered questionable. On Saturday, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Arber Xhekaj was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which he certainly deserved, but at the same time, Kirby Dach was getting punched after the whistle by a Maple Leafs player.
However, Xhekaj was the only player called for the penalty, and Toronto went on the power play and scored their first goal of the game to make it 3-1. After the power play, the Maple Leafs added another quick goal and made the game much closer than it should have been.
Cole Caufield did a good job walking that line of not directly criticizing the refs but calling out the fact that there has certainly been an inbalance of the calls, but also when these penalties are being called.
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