Referees lose control in Florida, as Cernak is cut and multiple players and a coach are ejected
Last night was a tough night for a few members of the Tampa Bay Lighting, especially when it came to dropping the gloves. During last night's game both Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak were busted open by members of the Panthers during fights. Referees failed to control the overall game and like so many times when this happens, things got out of hand late in the 3rd.
In the 3rd period with the score 7-4 in favour of the Lightning, Panther's Ryan Lomberg dropped the gloves with Cernak. An unprepared linesman attempted to break up the fight, allowing Lomberg to throw a right hand that caught Cernak flush. The right hand landed above Cernak's eye cutting him open.
On the play the referees issued both Lomberg and Cernak, 5-minute majors for fighting on the play. Lomberg also received a 10-minute misconduct, 2-minutes for instigating and a game misconduct. In total Lomberg received 27-minutes in penalties. The referees also decided to thin the Panther's bench on the play issuing 10-minute misconducts to Mason Marchment, Jonathan Huberdeau and Head Coach Andrew Brunette. In total the game featured 90-minutes of penalties combined.
After the game Andrew Brunette had this to say about the officials.
I got tossed after asking officials why Lomberg got an instigator in his fight with Cernak. I guess they didn't like that question.
There is no denying that a possible Tampa Bay Lightning versus Florida Panthers series could be extremely compelling this year should the teams meet in the playoffs.
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