Let’s be clear: the officiating during the third period of the Canadiens’ 6-5 loss in Edmonton Thursday evening was squalid. Article content

Shambolic. Dreadful. Inexcusable. Article content Article content

But, but, but … we’ll get to that in a moment.

First, the series of deplorable, was rank enough to stink out Rogers Place and points west all the way to Jasper.

It began with a boarding call on Juraj Slafkovsky early in the third period and ended with back-to-back penalties leading directly to two Edmonton goals. The first was on Mike Matheson for breathing on Connor McDavid. McDavid may have taken a flop, but it was well short of a Tim Stutzle dive, and the guy they call McJesus is going to get those calls.

If the NHL wants to get to where Gary Bettman wants it to be, then it

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