Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy unloaded on the referees and the Islanders after dropping a pivotal game five at home on Monday night.
Following New York's 5-4 victory to put itself on the brink of advancing to a second straight Eastern Conference Final, Cassidy ripped the officiating and the Islanders themselves, saying New York deceives the refs into thinking they play a clean game.
"We're playing a team that has a very respected management and coaching staff that's won a Stanley Cup, but I think they sell a narrative over there that it's more like the New York Saints, not the New York Islanders," Cassidy said. "They play hard and they play the right way, but I feel we're the same way, and the calls, the exact calls that get called on us do not get called on them, and I don't know why."
Shot attempts were slanted in Boston's favor on Monday (76-35), and the Bruins spent the majority of game five in the attacking zone, and drew two penalty calls compared to New York's four (though one penalty was on a delay of game when Patrice Bergeron sent a puck out of play on a clear attempt). Cassidy cleary felt Boston's time on the attack and the amount of time spent on the power play didn't add up.
"You've got continuous high sticks every game, the exact same high sticks, Bergy with Nelson behind the net, the one that comes up on Smith, Marchy got called for that in game one," Cassidy said. "I can go on and on…maybe we need to sell them more and flop, but that's not us."
Islanders head coach Barry Trotz was dismissive when asked about Cassidy's comments after the game.
"You'll have to ask him about that," Trotz said. "Just look at where we ended up during the year. I think we were one of the least penalized teams in the whole league. So I don't know what he means by that. You'll have to ask him."
The Islanders were actually the least penalized team in the league this season, while the Bruins were the third-most penalized team. In that respect, the penalty numbers in game five checked out, though the difference in penalty calls was more glaring after New York went 3-for-4 on the man advantage in what was a clear difference-maker in the game, and potentially the series as the Islanders take a 3-2 series lead back to Long Island.
"They've done a great job selling that narrative that they're clean," Cassidy said. "They play hard, a hard brand of hockey. I love the way they play. They commit as many infractions as we do, trust me."
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