Jon Cooper implies the referee may have had 'something to gain' by helping the Leafs

The Tampa Bay Lightning currently trail the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in their first round series. The Maple Leafs won last night's game in overtime after a goal by Morgan Rielly snuck by Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, during the second period a goal by Brayden Point was called back that would have given the Lightning a 4-2 lead at the time.

Unfortunately for the Bolts the referee on the ice had lost sight of the puck and blown the play dead. It was clear though that Samsonov had never actually covered the puck and Point was able to deposit the loose puck. That however is not the rule.

The NHL allows for a continuation rule that would allow for an initial shot to trickle into the net and still count. That rule doesn't account for loose pucks put in by additional actions. The Bolts were understandably frustrated by the call.


After the game Jon Cooper's comments alluded to something nefarious as he implies that the referee may have had something to gain by blowing the whistle.



While Cooper is usually a very smart tactician with managing the media, this feels like a coach going too far. This was simply a situation where a referee lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle, something that happens all the time.

With Game 4 set to go Monday in Tampa this series seems like it's about to get good.