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Vancouver Canucks fans were nervous about the reffing before the game even started.
That’s because Kelly Sutherland, a 2011 villain, was picked as one of the officials for Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
And, well, refereeing was a topic of conversation among fans during the game.
No play drew the ire of Canucks fans more than a blatant missed high sticking call late in the second period. Connor McDavid caught Quinn Hughes in the face with his stick, drawing blood.
It should been a double minor. Instead, somehow, it was nothing.
Connor McDavid catches Quinn Hughes up high and draws blood.
There was no call on the play. pic.twitter.com/TMnrYFDHRd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
Nikita Zadorov scored the go-ahead goal for Vancouver a couple minutes later, so maybe it didn’t matter.
But it was just one aspect of the refereeing fans were upset with.
Little bastard hit him right in the HÖG #Canucks pic.twitter.com/82xSYVhF2H
— IndY – 5/16 (@YYCguy7) May 11, 2024
Nurse tosses #Canucks stick. No penalty? #vancouver pic.twitter.com/eGXYIss6W4
— Phil Stringer (@xphils) May 11, 2024
Rick Tocchet, along with his players, refrained from criticizing the officials too heavily. That’s a wise move.
“Tough job,” Tocchet said when asked about the referees. “The only thing I don’t like is the slew foots. I like Kelly and Eric [Furlatt]… there’s a couple slew foots on Huggy I didn’t like. But other than that, what are you gonna do? I mean, it’s a tough job. There was a lot of stuff out there tonight.”
Tocchet may have been talking about this play when Evander Kane took a run at Quinn Hughes. Kane kicks out his left leg, slew-footing Hughes, which knocked the Canucks captain off balance. The Oilers forward’s stick also made contact with Hughes’ helmet.
There wasn’t a penalty on the play.
these guys are so fucking dirty #canucks pic.twitter.com/GZbbebQTH8
— Tommy (@tommykippes2) May 11, 2024
The missed call on Kane was more costly. It occurred 4:15 into the third period, when the Canucks were still holding a 3-2 lead. McDavid scored the tying goal 1:12 later.
With that said, it’s fair to say that the Oilers were the better team on Friday, particularly during the third period when they had Vancouver under siege.
The series is tied heading back to Edmonton, with Game 3 for Sunday night.
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