Ryan Whitney sounds off on Canadiens blaming officiating after last-minute loss to Oilers

NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes - Source: Imagn
Ryan Whitney sounds off on Canadiens blaming officiating after last-minute loss to Oilers - Source: Imagn

Thursday's game between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens was full of excitement as both teams combined for a total of 11 goals. However, it was Edmonton who took the 'W' with Vasily Podkolzin's late third period goal. That goal prevented the game from going into overtime and gave the Oilers a 6-5 win over the Habs.

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After the game, Canadiens forward Cole Caufield said the referee’s call on Josh Anderson affected the game and helped the other team win. Anderson had received an unsportsmanlike penalty for angrily shooting the puck following Leon Draisaitl’s goal.

"The refs kinds took over the game there and kudos to them for winning it," Caufield said.

Before Draisaitl's goal, the Habs had a 5-3 lead in the third period. Draisaitl scored a goal at 11:19 of the third period on a power play. Following this, the Oilers had another power play opportunity, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored another goal in less than a minute, tying the game 5-5.

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Speaking about Caufield's remarks on the referees, Former NHL defenseman Ryan Whitney criticized the Canadiens. He shared a post on X after their loss to Edmonton.

"The city of Montreal is still crying about losing to the Oilers!," Whitney said. "In the history of the NHL no one has gotten more calls than the Habs and these fans can’t get over the Oilers getting a couple calls in their favor last night."
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Whitney said Montreal should focus on improving their penalty kill instead of blaming referees.

"Work on your PK!" Whitney added.
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Goalie Sam Montembeault made 23 saves but could not stop Edmonton’s late rally. Penalties hurt Montreal, allowing Edmonton to score on the two late power plays.

Martin St. Louis talked about Montreal Canadiens' loss

Speaking after the game, Coach Martin St. Louis said the team played well despite the loss. He noted that Edmonton won on the scoreboard but Montreal stayed competitive.

"It's easy to be frustrated by the result and by everything that happened," St. Louis said, via NHL.com. "The Oilers won on the board, but they haven't beat us. Honestly, the result is disappointing, but I'm happy with the way we played tonight. We played 60 minutes, but we just didn't win. Even when they were leading 3-1, they led, but they weren't beating us."

With this win, Edmonton has improved to 4-3-1, and Montreal falls to 6-3-0. Both teams will get a rematch on December 14, but until then, Edmonton will enjoy its 1-0 lead over Montreal this season.

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Edited by Ankit Kumar
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