The NHL should be embarrassed because its terrible officials have eclipsed the good hockey of all series

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There are many legitimate reasons for missed calls. Hockey is a fast game. Referees will not always be at the right angle to see an offense. Sanctions are judgments and no one judges correctly in 100% of the cases.

But when NHL officials continue to lack big calls on the biggest stage of the sport, you must recognize that there is a serious problem.

There are so many other things we should talk about – and we want to talk about – after the fifth game of the Stanley Cup final, but it is simply impossible to ignore what we have all seen. Thursday night.

It is impossible to ignore what we have seen all the playoffs. The five-minute major that should never have been called played this game 7 between Vegas and San Jose. The missed puck of the net cost the Bruins a goal against Columbus. The missed pass that cost the Blues a game in overtime against the Sharks.

And now, this series, where officials have gradually deteriorated en route to their nadir Thursday night. After the victory of the Bruins game 1, the Blues have clearly decided to strengthen their physique and see how they could get away with it.

In the second match, Oskar Sundqvist hit Matt Grzelcyk in the lead from behind and only got a minor two-minute match. He ended up having a one – game suspension, but the Blues stayed the course in the third game.

After taking five penalties in each of the first two games, they took seven more in the third game. They should have had more, since Sammy Blais and Jaden Schwartz escaped with shots to the head and David Perron escaped against Tuukka. Rask (was eventually called to interfere with the goalkeeper when he did it later in the match).

Knowing his team's game perfectly, Craig Berube, the Blues coach, took advantage of the break between the third and fourth games to wonder why his team had been called for so many penalties. The strategy was clear. Dare the referees call everything. Dare to continue to claim the same number of penalties.

Two games later, we can say with certainty that Bérubé's complaints have worked. The Blues have been called for just three penalties in each of the last two games, although they have clearly not stopped either physically or not.

The dividing line between "letting the boys play" and the glaring penalties missing from the match is slim, and the referees were clearly on the wrong side of that line in the fifth game.

They once again missed two shots in the head, first by Ivan Barbashev on Marcus Johansson, then by Zach Sanford on Torey Krug.

Then they missed an obvious take of Sundqvist on Torey Krug, which allowed the Blues to seize a golden opportunity. They would also have scored a goal if the rescue had not been great David Krejci.

And then, in the most obvious and blatant way, they missed Tyler Bozak's decisive goal on Noel Acciari, who helped establish the Blues' second goal, which proved to be the winner of their victory 2 -1. Not only was it a clear penalty that affected the game, but it was also a dangerous game that forced Acciari to leave the match and be controlled for a concussion.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy did not hesitate after the match when he was asked about refereeing (watch the full video at the top of this post).

"The non-call on Acciari, their player en route to the surface," said Cassidy. "It's right in front of the official.It's a stand up.Our guy is gone.The watchman has pulled out of the match for a possible concussion.I mean, it's all right. This has had a significant effect on the match.

"I mean, that's what happened … I'm a supporter of the game, but the National Hockey League has a black eye with your role as an umpire in these playoffs. And here's another topic we're going to talk about. "

He is right. We are talking about it. Not because it's fun to complain about arbitrating – no one wants to be a whiner or a homer – but because it's a great story, as has been all too often this spring. This simply played a major role in the decision of the fifth game of the Stanley Cup final.

The NHL has a problem and it is unfortunate that this problem has continually distracted and overshadowed such good hockey.

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Related: A missed call from Crucial allows Blues to win 2-1

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