That was some questionable officiating against the Montreal Canadiens

It could be argued that the Montreal Canadiens are in control of their fate with each passing game, but Saturday night against the New York Rangers felt rough.

Despite the officiating being lopsided, the Canadiens almost held on to force overtime. With 24 seconds left in the final frame, the Rangers pulled ahead with a power play tally. Kaapo Kakko potted his fourth of the season, sealing a win for his team.

The Habs were trailing 3-1 heading into the third period, Cole Caufield scored his 14th of the season at 4:16. Then at 14:07 Nick Suzuki scored his ninth of the year to tie the game at threes. Unfortunately, Kirby Dach took a four-minute penalty at 2:40 to go in the game that changed everything.

While this was the determining factor of the game, I think it's fair to say that there were some blown calls and soft calls leading up to it. Dach was undoubtedly caught for a bad penalty at an even worse time. But there were a few instances that left me scratching my head, potential calls that just went unnoticed almost.

Martin St. Louis was none too pleased judging by what he said post game. I tend to agree, the Habs played well and were deserving of a better result. Hockey can be unfair at times, and officiating told a different story than Montreal's performance.

The four minute minor did break the Canadiens' back though.

Lets give Dach a chance

Am I frustrated at the result of the game on Saturday afternoon? Of course I am, the Canadiens came to play. Dach didn't have a wonderful game, but you know he is working hard to get out of this frustrating funk. And he isn't the only player who has taken a high-sticking double minor, so jumping on him for it is a little rough.

Now hear me out, if it's a turnover or a lazy penalty that is one thing, but he was in the right position and trying to defend. We want Dach to be engaged and fighting for pucks, he did just that, but a freak accident happened. I think that he just needs to figure it out and when he does, the Habs will be pleased they waited.

Dach is still young and has dealt with more injury trouble than anything, he just needs a clean slate to get going. I suspect that once he does, he will be an important factor in the Canadiens' success. He hasn't reached his ceiling yet, but he has shown flashes of skill and his 38-point season didn't happen for no reason - in 58 games at that.