There’s a lot of hard jobs out there, and being an NHL referee feels like it’d be one of them. Considering how dangerous their jobs are and how they’re constantly being given grief by fans, I’m willing to give them some free passes.
Bruins player kept getting punched in the face because an official was holding his arm
Things got out of hand in Buffalo.
This incident against Adam McQuaid is a hard one to watch, though.
Late in the first period between the Bruins and Sabres, McQuaid stepped in to fight rookie forward William Carrier after the first-year player injured David Backes with a high hit. The ensuing fight wasn’t really a fight at all, as it was all one-sided by Carrier because McQuaid had his arm held in place by officials.
Carrier got a handful of punches to the unprotected noggin of McQuaid while an official scrambled to get a hold of the Sabres forward to stop the fight. It’s a bad look for the officials, who failed to take control of a powder keg game that was going to explode after Carrier’s hit on Backes.
Carrier also should have let up on McQuaid while he was unable to fight back. It’s most likely a rookie mistake by the Sabres forward, a product of excess adrenaline, but Carrier should have recognized the situation.
Thankfully, McQuaid seemed to be alright after the incident, though clearly annoyed that Carrier was allowed to carry on as long as he did.
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