When he was head coach of the Boston Bruins, Bruce Cassidy never held back when calling anyone out. Whether it was a player, whom he frequently did, another coach, or an official, the outspoken Jack Adams Award winner always had an opinion.
After he was first in June of 2022, it didn't take him long to be hired by the Vegas Golden Knights, and in his first season, he led them to a Stanley Cup Championship. This season, after a first-round series win over the Minnesota Wild, the Golden Knights began their second-round series against the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.
After dropping Game 1, 4-2, on Tuesday night, the two teams played Game 2 in Vegas on Thursday night and went to overtime. Leon Draisaitl scored 15:20 into the extra session for a 5-4 victory that gives Edmonton a 2-0 series lead heading back home. However, it was what happened before the game-winner that had Cassidy upset.
Former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy unleashes on official after overtime loss to Oilers
In overtime, Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb was going behind the net to collect the puck when Edmonton's Victor Arvidssson tripped him down, sending him hard into the boards just 17 seconds before the Oilers potted the winning goal. Cassidy was not happy that a penalty was not called, to say the least.
"Listen, Gord's (Dwyer) looking at it,'' Cassidy said. "He blew it, he missed the call. I don't know what else to say. I mean, it's a can opener trip, it's a dangerous play, it's all of those things, but it didn't get called, so you got to keep playing.''
Game 3 will be Saturday in Edmonton with the Oilers looking to take a stranglehold on the series, and Vegas will be a desperate team and could be without one of their defenseman. Cassidy could also be a little lighter in the pocket as well.