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Canadiens Sniper Caufield Sends Message To Referees
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- Canadiens Sniper Caufield Sends Message To Referees
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield did not hold back following a frustrating loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Caufield scored two goals in the third period to give the Habs a late-game lead, but a few questionable decisions by the officials led to a pair of powerplay goals for the Oilers, powering them to a 6-5 win.
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"I'm still trying to figure that out," said a despondent Caufield following the game. "The refs kinda took over the game there, and, uhm, kudos to them for winning it."
The first part of the frustrated reaction may have gone unpunished, but calling the refs out for showing a bias is almost sure to lead to a fine for the 24-year-old forward, however, you'd be hard-pressed to argue he's wrong.
With the Canadiens up 5-3, the referees decided to call Juraj Slafkovsky for boarding, and though he was clearly the aggressor on the play, it was a matter of one player overpowering the other, rather than someone driving their opponent into the boards with an overabundance of momentum.
The Oilers scored on the ensuing powerplay, and then things went from bad to worse for the Habs, as Josh Anderson was given an unsportsmanlike penalty immediately after the goal. There was no explanation offered by the officials, but it seems that Anderson slammed his stick on the ice while expressing his feelings in a rather vocal manner.
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If the Montreal Canadiens had managed to hold onto their lead, they would have emerged from Edmonton as the top team in the Eastern Conference, making the whole situation a little more difficult to swallow for the players in question.
Head coach Martin St-Louis was equally annoyed, as you'd expect given that his team offered a solid effort on Thursday night. The Oilers were given five straight powerplays once the Habs established their two-goal lead.
Such is life in the NHL, where the only consistency to be found among officials is the guarantee of inconsistency on a nightly basis.
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