Referees face backlash for late-game error that nearly cost the Canadiens in Utah

The Montreal Canadiens experienced an officiating moment that raises major questions about consistency.

Even if the sequence looks simple, many supporters feel that something hasn’t been right in the NHL for quite some time.

Last night, the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Utah Mammoth took a strange turn when the puck, sent from the neutral zone, rolled toward the Mammoth’s empty net and hit the post directly.

Normally, play should continue. The shot never crossed the goal line. Yet the linesmen raised their arm for icing, giving the Mammoth an advantageous faceoff.

The officiating between Montreal and Utah exposes a real consistency problem

And this is not an isolated event.

Since the start of the season, the quality of officiating has been questioned across the league. Montreal is just another example in a series of sequences where calls seem inconsistent, rules poorly applied, and uniformity nearly nonexistent.

When a shot off the post suddenly becomes an icing call, we’re no longer talking about a technical detail. We’re talking about something illogical. It’s the very spirit of the rule that no longer holds up.

And this type of mistake can influence the outcome of a game, especially when every possession counts. The NHL will truly need to review certain protocols if it wants to restore confidence.

The players deserve better. The teams too. And the fans, even more.

This kind of situation should never happen. It’s frankly incomprehensible.