Referees fooled by brutal dive for first penalty of the NHL playoffs

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, many fans know the referees put away the whistles and allow Theo lawyers to play a physical game. For the first penalty of the playoffs, that clearly wasn't the case.

Early in the first period, Islanders captain Anders Lee was penalized for a hold against Hurricanes defender Brady Skjei, and it definitely wasn't a penalty much less in the playoffs.


Not only did Lee barely even impede Skjei's movement for the puck, but Skjei did his absolute best to sell the call and shamelessly went down to the ice easily. Simply put, this cannot possibly be the standard of a penalty in the playoffs.



On the ensuing powerplay as well, the Hurricanes scored the first goal of the series to give them a 1-0 lead in the game. Thankfully, the Hockey Gods made up for it, and the Islanders tied it up heading into the second period.

Near the beginning of each playoff season, it seems like the referees don't quickly adjust to the lenient rules expected in the playoffs. This penalty surely wouldn't be called in a game 7, but they shouldn't be made at any time in the playoffs - everything is simply too important.

We'll see how the NHL's playoff officiating works out this year, but so far, they're not off to a great start.