Coach Rod Brind’Amour of Carolina voiced his dissatisfaction with the call that resulted in the Rangers’ tying goal in their comeback victory on Thursday night, just minutes after his team’s season came to an end. After just three penalties were called in the game, Jordan Staal’s cross-check on Mika Zibanejad at 10:58 of the third gave the Rangers a power play, which they converted at five-on-four for the first time in nine attempts. Chris Kreider then scored his second of three goals on the evening to tie the score at 3-3.

With a 5-3 victory, the Rangers concluded the second-round series in six games, preventing the Hurricanes from advancing to Madison Square Garden for a Game 7 matchup.

That might be a cross-check, but I’m not sure,” Brind’Amour remarked. “He shoved him against the planks. We’re at that point, where a lot of extra work goes into making sure you receive the call. “The penalty needs to be eliminated; they are skilled.” Kreider appeared out of nowhere. Excellent advice. I have to give them credit.

Given that the Hurricanes were heavily accused of diving during their first-round victory against the Islanders, the inference is especially amusing. Despite having a strong run from Game 2 onward, Carolina did not perform well enough on the penalty kill throughout the series.