Multiple NHL head coaches call out poor officiating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Regardless of what your favorite sport is there's no doubt that at some point while watching it as a fan you have become frustrated with the officials overseeing the contest. Officials are after all just human beings like you and I and when human beings are involved the possibility of human error is always going to exist, but even with that in mind it seems that the officiating in these Stanley Cup Playoffs has taken a turn for the worse.

You don't need to take my word for it either as now several of the National Hockey League's head coaches have come out an openly criticized the officiating in these playoffs thus far, something of a relatively rare thing to see in the league given just how often the NHL tends to discipline coaches for doing so. 

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour was rather blunt this week when he openly stated that he felt his team was competiting against both the Nashville Predators and the officials on the ice.

"We played great. We played hard. We're playing a great team. ... But we're also fighting the refs," said Brind'Amour. "That's plain and simple. You can't tell me two games in a row we get seven, eight penalties and they get three. And when the game's this even - it's not right."

Here it is in his own words:

When asked about those comments on Saturday Brind'Amour did not back down. What he did do however was give some credit to the officials, seemingly implying that they should get assistance in the form of video review from the eye in the sky.

“It’s an impossible job that they have to do," admitted the Hurricanes head coach. "An absolutely impossible job. You cannot ref this game live. It’s impossible. Everything looks like a penalty, everything looks like not a penalty. … It’s nothing against the referees. These guys are awesome. I know these guys. …

“I talk to them after the game, run into them. They’re the greatest officials around. They have an impossible job."

Following Game 4 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers on Saturday, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper also slammed the officiating on the ice in spite of the fact that his team thoroughly dominated that contest.

"When your players are being told, 'Don't do anything stupid. We'll get you.' And the other team gets rewarded for it," said a frustrated Cooper. "I just don't get it. It's really frustrating. Don't get me wrong. We're not angels out there. Not sitting here saying that. Far from it. But when there's a standard set and nothing gets done…"

"I give our guys a ton of credit for sticking with it and battling through embellishment and no calls after no calls after no calls.. Did we earn some of our penalties? There's no question. But kudos to our guys for sticking with it. I'm fairly certain everyone else on this particular board (Zoom call), there's 34, if they watched the game, they’ll know where I’m coming from."