BOSTON — It might not have mattered in the end, but that doesn’t mean Bruce Cassidy was going to let it slide.
During the opening minutes of Thursday’s second period at TD Garden, Boston Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak stopped a shot by Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau and the puck appeared to get stuck under his skate blade. The officials didn’t blow the play dead, though, and Elias Lindholm skated in and poked the puck across the line to tie the game at two.
Cassidy issued a challenge, but the goal stood. The Bruins scored less than a minute later to retake the lead and hold on for a 6-4 win.
After the game, Cassidy was asked about the goal, and he didn’t hold back.
“Seemed like a bad call to me, wouldn’t you say?” Cassidy said after the game. “After watching the highlights and it’s covered up under his skate for three seconds. Is that where you are going with this? Exactly, right? Don’t you blow the whistle when it’s covered like that? I would think, right? I don’t know what to say on that one. I think he blew it, to be honest with you.”
Why did Cassidy challenge it? Mainly out of spite.
“I challenged it because I’ve watched some goals against in the last two or three weeks that have been challenged and some of them have been, to me, you just don’t know. Not only that but to get the crowd fired up maybe to get on the refs so we could get a call. I don’t know, I was just pissed off about the whole thing.”
The goal didn’t end up hurting the Bruins in the long run, but it certainly appeared play should have been stopped. Nevertheless, Boston overcame a slow start on home ice to win its third straight game behind Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, who each potted two goals in the win.
