Zachary Bolduc and Martin St-Louis had to handle more complaints about the referees after Game 3 against Buffalo.
The main problem was a double minor penalty given to Bolduc near Alex Lyon. During the play, it didn’t seem like Bolduc made the kind of hit that would usually lead to such a serious penalty.
This issue alone would have created some fuss. However, it became a bigger story because Eric Engels reported what referee Kyle Rehman supposedly said before everything happened.
Engels mentioned that Rehman told Lyon he would make sure he was safe. Then Bolduc got a penalty for going into the goalie area, even though the replay didn’t show him clearly hitting the Sabres’ goalie.
That part is what really stands out. Goalies usually get more protection from referees, and everyone involved in hockey knows that. But when it seems like a call was planned ahead of time, it raises more questions.
And those questions are reasonable in this playoff series. The Canadiens and Sabres are playing very closely, so one questionable call can really change how the game feels quickly.
Bolduc became a symbol of that irritation because the penalty didn’t just stop the game. It also gave Buffalo a power play for something that Montreal thought should have been called differently.
Referee Kyle Rehman told Alex Lyon he’d keep him safe just before that moment. Then he penalized Bolduc for entering Lyon’s crease—even though Bolduc didn’t actually hit him—and gave Bolduc an extra penalty for roughing. That’s why the Sabres got a power play from that situation.
The larger concern is about the consistency of the officiating, not just one call.
That is where the frustration with this call really comes from. Fans and teams can accept a missed call once in a while. What really annoys them is when similar situations are judged completely differently from one moment to the next.
That was the vibe after this game. A questionable call involving Bolduc got a lot of attention, but then a much more serious crash with Jakub Dobes later on didn’t result in the same penalties.
This difference in how calls are made looks really bad for the league. It’s not that one side wants every little call to be made, but rather that the rules seem inconsistent.
When the rules keep changing, players become confused about what is actually allowed. That creates a troubling situation for any playoff series.
St-Louis now has another thing to deal with besides just the game. He has to keep his team focused while they feel like the rules about hitting the goalie are changing all the time.
The NHL might not like the criticism, but it has brought this on itself. If the report about Rehman’s comments is true, then the league has a problem with how things look and a credibility issue right behind it.
That’s why people are still talking about the Bolduc call. It wasn’t just seen as a bad penalty by Montreal, it has become another reason why the refereeing in this series is now part of the conversation.
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