Canadiens’ Brandon Prust Rips Referee, Accuses Ref Of On-Ice Trash Talk

Brandon Prust on Sunday accused a referee of targeting him.

The Montreal Canadiens forward had a frustrating night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning rolled to a 6-2 win over the Habs, giving the Bolts a 2-0 lead with the series shifting to Tampa Bay. Prust’s frustrations boiled over with a late fight, but he also had issues with one of Game 2’s referees.

Prust ripped referee Brad Watson after the game.

“I thought the original call (earlier in the game) was kind of soft and I let him know on the way to the penalty box,” Prust told reporters after the game, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. “He kept provoking me. He came to the box and called me every name in the book. He called me a piece of you know what, a mother f’er, coward and said he’d drive me right out of the building.

“I kept going, ‘Yeah, OK, yeah OK, yeah OK.’ He kept on me, he kept on me. I kept saying ‘Yeah, OK.’ I wasn’t looking at him.”

Prust was also given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“He teed me up. That’s the ref he is. He tries to play God. He tries to control the game and he did that tonight.”

Prust’s comments will be reviewed by the NHL, according to McKenzie.

Thumbnail photo via Jean-Yves Ahern/USA TODAY Sports Images