NHL Player Safety comes for Nick Ritchie just hours after NHL fines Bruce Cassidy $25,000

In case you missed it earlier today, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has been fined $25,000 by the NHL for criticizing the officials in last night's game.

Check it out:

Cassidy went off on the officials in his post-game comments yesterday and evidently the NHL didn't take too kindly to it. Most notably Cassidy claimed that the Islanders get the benefit of the doubt from officials because of a perceived "narrative" put forth by their management team. Cassidy contends that the Islanders get away with things that other teams don't get away with, namely the Bruins themselves, because of their narrative of being a clean, hardworking team. But, these aren't the "New York Saints" as Cassidy calls them.

Check out coach Cassidy's full comments below:

I've got to say... he's not entirely wrong.

It's not exactly a secret that refereeing has been inconsistent this post-season, just as it seems to have been the past few seasons. I've got to agree with Cassidy when he says, "Get it done right and stop worrying about outside influences." In other words: Call the rulebook and stop worrying about what the fan and media reaction will be. I've been saying this for years. Call the rulebook and there's not a damn thing that anyone can complain about.

It might sound rich coming from Cassidy and the Bruins organization given that they have a bit of a reputation for getting away with murder, but again I agree with Cassidy. I'm not going to criticize the messenger because his message is right on point. 

In related Bruins news, forward Nick Ritchie has been fined $5,000 by NHL Player Safety for elbowing Islanders forward Scott Mayfield in last night's game. The play went unpenalized on the ice.

Check it out:

And here's the hit in question:

I've got to say that Ritchie is lucky that he got away with a simple fine on this play. He could have knocked Mayfield out cold and earned himself a 5 game suspension easily.

In any case, Game 6 should produce some fireworks and I'll be waiting patiently to see the fan reaction to the evening's first penalty call.