Bruce Cassidy rips the NHL's officiating in the playoffs.

The officiating in the National Hockey League has always been a subject of much controversy. Whether it be the actual calls made on the ice or the rulings that come down from the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety, what appears to be a glaring lack of inconsistency from the league's officials has led to seemingly constant frustration from both teams and their fans and unfortunately Saturday night proved to be no exception.

The latest gripe on this front now comes from Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy who, following a loss to the New York Islanders in Game 4 of their second round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, was critical of the officiating that his team received in the game. Cassidy however went a step further and made the case that his team has been the victim of poor officiating throughout the playoffs, perhaps even prior to facing the Islanders in the second round.

"I think the whole playoffs we haven't gotten many calls to put us on the power play." said the Bruins head coach. "They see what they see. We're not going to bitch about it. It is what it is."

Although I can only speculate as to what led Cassidy to make such a statement, I suspect that the interaction between Bruins veteran forward David Krejci and Islanders star forward Mathew Barzal may have played a significant factor in his unhappiness with the league's officials. Krejci, who has a history of back problems, was the victim of several unanswered cross checks to the back courtesy of the Islanders forward and after about the third or fourth cross check retaliated with a spear to Barzal. Krejci was initially awarded a major penalty on the play, which would later be reduced to a two minute minor penalty, while Barzal walked away with no punishment except for that which was delivered by Krejci himself.

As frustrating as the officiating might have been for the Bruins however they can take some solace in the fact that the NHL's incompetent officiating is not limited to calls made against them. There was a particularly brutal call during the other game on the schedule on Saturday, one between the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning, that simply beggared belief.