Bruins vs Lightning Stadium Series: Bad Penalties or Bad Officiating?
The 2026 Stadium Series was electrifying, featuring a high-scoring game & the first-ever outdoor NHL goalie fight between Jeremy Swayman & Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, the Bruins lost 6-5 in a shootout to the Lightning, blowing a four-goal lead largely due to penalties. New England Hockey Journal’s Evan Marinofsky joins Sophia Jurksztowicz & Adam Pellerin to debate if Boston’s penalties or poor officiating caused the loss. Plus, Evan discuss what the ceiling is for Fraser Minten after being named NHL ‘Rookie of the Month’ for January.
#Bruins #BostonBruins
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14 Comments
It's ok to criticize bad officiating AND it's ok to criticize bad play.
Take the fine Marco! Call it like it was regarding the refs not calling penalties on TB.
That OT penalty call/no whistle was brutal.
This was rigged for Tampa to win.
They're not a playoff team yet, Evan. They're currently in a playoff spot, there's a difference.
The critic is that obvious penalties were not called for Tampa. Bs took the penalties but the lack of calls on Tampa negated 4-4 or 4-3 etc. which modified the course of the game. Either call all or not simple.
Story of the game is the Bruins blew it .. pure and simple.
I am NOT a conspiracy theorist, but I believe this game was totally "fixed" for a Tampa victory. And I told my wife at the start of the game, no matter what happens, Tampa is going to win this game. However, at first, the Bruins weren't playing along with the game "plan". Or maybe they were, like in a WWE (scripted) match. Then came that totally ridiculous second period. No team, at any level, starts or instigates fights when they are leading by that much. When I saw all that, I figured the game was rigged. At one point, 1/4 of the Bruins team was in the penalty box! Speaking of fights … the goalie fight was prearranged (as well) in order to add more excitement to the event and to give that big crowd and the millions at home watching something they've never seen before. This was confirmed by the greeting and hug by the goalies at the end of the game. Think of it this way … both teams got "paid" for this game. The Bs got a point as a consolation prize, and the Ls got two for hosting the event. The NHL came out the BIG winner with the exposure.
It was the WWE, scripted.
It was theatrics with a chosen winner for the Tampa fans. I hate the NHL.
Hard not to notice the officiating was unbalanced. Bruins are guilty of committing penalties- the OT penalty on Pastrnak tells you everything you need to know about fixing an outdoor exhibition in Florida.
Every single penalty we took this game was deserved, that being said every single penalty Tampa committed that was allowed should have else ended up a PP or 4-4 for Boston. Before I leave on the last note my first part of this statement is incorrect every single penalty EXCEPT that bullshit phantom slash that wiped a gwg was deserved, but Gary can’t have the precious sunbelt team lose in his holy Mecca of the state of Florida. I can’t wait for that piece of shit state to be fully swallowed by the glades and the Atlantic maybe we can finally have hockey back.
It was both.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE ALIVE, WELL & THRIVING IN BOSTON ‼️‼️‼️
equal parts laughable and idiotic
The Boston babies blaming the refs when Tampa has owned them for the past 7 years lol you are the most penalized team maybe you should stop taking penalties 😂 don’t blame the refs when you blew a 4 goal lead 😅
This is who the Bruins are. They take penalties. For 30 minutes the Lightning were playing decidedly anti-Lightning hockey. Their recipe is elite puck management + NZ attention to detail + D Zone Coverage. For 30 minutes, they sucked out loud at each of those things.
The Bruins would be a dominant team if they took fewer penalties or if their PK could cover it up. They're great in most other facets of the game.
Complaining about the officiating is stupid. The OT call on Pasta is a clear penalty to interfere with a scoring chance. There were multiple penalties against the Bruins that were not called as well. I heard the whistle at least 5 seconds before the shot from Pasta.
Hilarious to me that the team owned by Bettman's best buddy thinks the fix was in, lol. 2011 game 7 ECF and the guy who threw a water bottle at a fan in the stands the game before is the guy who scores the only goal in a game where no penalties were called…so rich.