The Maple Leafs were given eight penalty minutes to the Capitals’ four, with a handful of missed calls in the final frame.
The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a close 3-1 decision to the Washington Capitals on Friday, with the officiating and a tough break on the game-winning goal leading the headlines in postgame conversations. John Tavares, who scored Toronto’s lone goal, didn’t seem pleased when addressing a pivotal moment late in the game and the overall penalty disparity – but not going into much detail.
The moment specifically involving Tavares came in the final frame, with the Leafs pressing for an equalizer. Tavares was engaged in a battle in front of the Capitals' net with Martin Fehervary when the defenseman’s helmet was knocked off during the scrum.
NHL rules mandate that play should be stopped if a player participates without a helmet or said player must exit the playing surface, but the officials allowed the sequence to continue.
“Yeah, well, I have thoughts about the whole battle there, but anyway,” said Tavares postgame. “Mo gets it and I have a little bit of space there and I just tried to get it up as best I can. He got across pretty well. Could I have maybe been a little more patient with it? I just tried to get it up as quickly as I could and he came across quickly.”
“So, obviously gotta find a way to try and put it in. Saying that, just tried to throw it back in front and we just split hairs a little too late to get it first to push it across the line,” he added.
Adding to the frustration, had the officials deemed Tavares’ helmet removal intentional, he could have been assessed a penalty himself – a situation that further highlighted the inconsistencies in officiating.
Leafs, Berube, Put Officiating Under Fire
The Leafs were assessed eight penalty minutes to the Capitals’ four, with questionable calls on both sides. Leafs head coach Craig Berube was particularly livid after defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was whistled down for two penalties – one for high-sticking on Tom Wilson and another for slashing.
Video evidence suggested the high-sticking penalty was unwarranted, as Ekman-Larsson appeared to barely graze Wilson, if at all.
Berube was caught on camera not mincing any words, having every right to be upset.
“Jesus Christ! F*****g, two f*****g calls,” from the bench before adding, “That's two bad calls! Two bad f*****g calls! Two!”
The officiating played a part in a handful of critical moments throughout the game, but none bigger on the game-winning goal.
The Capitals’ game-winning goal came off an unlucky bounce. Auston Matthews, attempting a behind-the-net pass, inadvertently sent the puck off the skate of a referee, placing it directly on Connor McMichael’s stick. McMichael capitalized, beating Anthony Stolarz to give the Capitals the lead and ultimately win the game.
“Yeah, it’s a tough break,” Tavares admitted.
Berube, however, shifted the blame back to the decision-making: “You are opening up a big can of worms there with that. On that play, instead of just going the other way with the puck, they brought it back.”
The loss against the Capitals snapped a three-game win streak for the Maple Leafs. Luckily, the club has to turn the page fairly quickly. On Saturday, the Leafs travel to Pittsburgh in a matchup with the Penguins.
“We just have to be a little bit better executing and the way we have to skate and the pace we have to play with has another level there,” said Tavares. “Have a great opportunity to go back tomorrow against a team that’s also been playing really well, so a big challenge for us to regroup here and get back to our game.”