The Montreal Canadiens are suddenly feeling the heat after consecutive overtime losses swung the Eastern Conference Final back in Carolina’s favor. A team that clawed its way through back-to-back seven-game wars against Tampa Bay and Buffalo is now fighting to regain control after another gut-punch defeat at Bell Centre.
Montreal spent most of Game 3 battling uphill against Carolina’s relentless pressure and nearly pulled off a huge momentum shift late in regulation. But once the final buzzer sounded, the spotlight was also on the officiating, as fans, analysts, and hockey media across North America lit up social media over several missed calls that changed the vibe of the night.
NHL Refs Under Fire After Canadiens’ Controversial OT Loss to Hurricanes
The biggest controversy from Carolina’s 3-2 overtime victory centered around an uncalled high elbow from Hurricanes forward William Carrier on Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson during overtime.
Replay angles from the Sportsnet broadcast appeared to show Carrier catching Hutson up high with a direct elbow to the head along the boards, but the officials kept their whistles mum. Just moments later, Hutson lost the puck in the defensive zone under pressure, and Carolina capitalized fast as Andrei Svechnikov buried the overtime winner at the 14:06 mark.
The sequence only intensified frustration around the officiating because Hutson had already been targeted physically throughout the series. In Game 2, Taylor Hall delivered a dangerous knee-on-knee hit on the young Canadiens defenseman.
Despite the latest hit, Hutson remained in the game and still logged 28:55 of ice time after scoring a second-period power-play goal earlier in the night.
Montreal also dealt with another crushing moment before overtime when Noah Dobson’s apparent third-period go-ahead goal was overturned after Carolina successfully challenged the play for offside. Nick Suzuki later missed a clean breakaway chance in overtime before Svechnikov sealed the win for the Hurricanes.
The reaction online came quickly once clips of the missed elbow on Hutson circulated.
NHL analyst Kevin McCurdy blasted the officiating crew on X, writing, “Holy s**t is this some terrible officiating in OT. Carolina gets away with murder 2 or 3 separate times, and then they don’t call a blatant TMM, because the refs don’t want to deal with a riot in Montreal because of the other stuff they let go.”
As frustration continued building, NHL insider Jimmy Murphy called for supplemental discipline from the league office. Murphy posted on X, “Suspension! Where are you @nhlplayersafety? If the officials on the ice can’t do it, you need to.”
Others focused on the inconsistency of the overtime standard itself. NHL analyst Drew Livingstone pointed out missed infractions on both sides, writing, “Blatant trip by the Canes uncalled. Blatant too-many-men by the Habs uncalled. NHL Officiating rules.”
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski also weighed in on the controversial overtime sequence. While acknowledging playoff overtime standards, Wyshynski wrote on X, “I get the on-ice officials not wanting to influence a Stanley Cup Playoff overtime with a subjective call, but I sorta feel you have to call the ones that can be confirmed by simply counting to six.”
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Lost in the officiating debate was another massive performance from Montreal’s rookie goaltender, Jakub Dobes, who stopped 35 shots while facing constant Carolina pressure.
The Hurricanes outshot Montreal 38-13 overall and now carry a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night at Bell Centre.
