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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mary Clarke

NHL referees missed a blatant high stick on Brandon Hagel and the Lightning were furious

Brandon Hagel Lightning Oilers

Officiating in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been rocky, to say the least.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate their first playoff series victory in 19 seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning are headed home early from the postseason for the first time in a long time. The series was an incredibly close one, and it took overtime to decide Saturday night’s Game 6 after a tightly-contested game.

Before overtime began, however, there was quite a bit of officiating controversy after a pretty big missed call. In the dying seconds of the third period, with the score tied 1-1, Brandon Hagel was clipped with a high stick from T. J. Brodie while racing for the puck down the middle of the ice.

Hagel came up clutching his face, but no call was made. After the period ended, Hagel and the Lightning were seething over the non-call, which would have put Tampa Bay on a power play for nearly a full two minutes to start overtime.

Talk about a rough way to end the season. Who knows if the Lightning would have scored to force a Game 7 if Brodie was called for a high stick, but it’s just another example of the inconsistent officiating in these playoffs.

Here’s how fans reacted to the non-call high stick on Hagel.

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