Lightning blast refs for ‘unfair’ calls that ended season

The Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday, and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper did not hold back on two goalie interference calls that went against them.

“This is clearly a turning point in the game. If anyone’s going to talk about this game, they’re going to talk about the goals that were taken away,” Jon Cooper said, via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

The first call in question was a coach’s challenge by the Panthers at 13 minutes in the first period, when an Anthony Cirelli goal was taken off the board due to it being ruled that Anthony Duclair impaired Sergei Bobrovsky’s ability to play his position in the crease. Cooper believed that Gustav Forsling was holding Anthony Duclair on the play, according to Wyshynski. Duclair voiced his frustration with the call as well.

“You saw our reaction. It’s just one of those … it’s very frustrating,” Duclair said, via Wyshynski. “I always have a ref screaming in my ear. I thought I was out of the blue paint. When you look at the video, I was clearly out there. It is what it is, it’s a judgment call.”

The second call in question was after Niko Mikkola fired the puck into the net for the Lightning, but the goal was immediately waved off due to Anthony Cirelli making contact with Sergei Bobrovsky. Cooper challenged the play, as a goal would have tied the game at two, but it was unsuccessful. The Panthers pulled away in the third on their way to a 6-1 win that included two empty net goals. Cooper believed that Bobrovsky embellished on the play in question.

“I’ll give the goalie credit. He completely quit on the play,” Cooper said, via Wyshynski. “Didn’t see it, flailed and maybe there’s incidental contact at most. But now we have to challenge it because they saw the reaction from the goaltender. Bob’s doing the right thing. He dubed them. So be it. But we have to make that challenge.”

Anthony Cirelli’s thoughts on the two rulings

The Panthers went on to not score on the power play they were awarded after the unsuccessful challenge, but it did not come back to bite them. Cirelli’s mindset was that the Lightning had to keep playing, despite the calls that went against them.

“Obviously, it sucks. But it’s our job to go out there and keep battling and trying to get the next one,” Cirelli said, via Wyshynski. “When you think you have a goal and it goes the other way, you get down a little bit. But it doesn’t matter. You go out there and keep playing.”

The Lightning have now been eliminated in the first round in back-to-back seasons, and they will have to figure out a way to keep Steven Stamkos this offseason, if they choose that they want to.