BOSTON — We hope you’re sitting down, because what we’re about to say probably is going to floor you.
OK, ready? Here it is.
Craig Berube doesn’t agree with Bruce Cassidy that his comments about officiating changed the series.
Flash back to the aftermath of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. The St. Louis Blues head coach said he didn’t agree with some of the calls that had been made to that point, and made sure to mention that the Blues had been the least penalized team in the postseason.
The officiating went under the microscope (… again) Thursday night, when a blatant trip on Noel Acciari was missed. The resulting loose puck led to the Blues’ game-winning goal seconds later in their 2-1 win in Game 5.
After the game, the Bruins head coach went scorched earth in an incredibly candid postgame press conference. About 10 minutes later, Berube took the podium, and the first question he was asked was about Cassidy’s remarks that Berube’s comments earlier in the series had an impact and changed the “narrative.”
“My comments changed (things)?” Berube said. “I don’t agree with it, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not here to judge the officials and calls that could have been or couldn’t have been. They go both ways. I mean, there’s calls the other way that could have been called and they weren’t, so I don’t know what to say about that. I really don’t want to say anything about it.”
The next question Berube was asked was about how his team mirrors the way he played when he was a player. He used that as an opportunity to shoehorn in the same comment about the Blues not being penalized often.
“We play a hard game. We’re a physical team. We forecheck hard,” Berube said. “I’ll say it again: We’re the least penalized team in the playoffs. End of story. I don’t need to talk any more about it.”
Fortunately for Berube, his comments about calls that are and are not made were about on par with what the league’s director of officiating had to say.
