The Boston Bruins found themselves on the wrong side of a non-call in Game 5 that could have serious, serious repercussions.
Nearly halfway through the third, Tyler Bozak appeared to slew-foot defenceman Noel Acciari as he attempted to clear the puck out of his own zone. The puck consequently took a weak bounce right to Blues forward David Perron, who took full advantage to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Fans were outraged, throwing objects onto the ice as no one at TD Garden could wrap their head around what happened. To make matters worse, the marker ended up being the deciding factor as Boston would cut the lead to one, but fall short 2-1 at the final horn.
Acciari was asked about the incident following the game and kept his answer very, very blunt.
His coach Bruce Cassidy, on the other hand, shared just a few more words…
SVP and Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom responded to the call, saying his team “doesn’t comment on judgement calls within game.”
Add this one to the long list of controversial non-calls this postseason. Still, the Cody Eakin penalty on Joe Pavelski in Game 7 of the Sharks vs. Golden Knights first round series seems to take the cake.
Hopefully Acciari will be okay to suit up on Sunday night, when the Bruins fight for their lives in St. Louis.
(H/T Conor Ryan)
