Kyle Okposo speaks the truth about inconsistencies in NHL officiating

When Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo speaks, the NHL should listen. And they should also admit their blatant inconsistency regarding officiating.

Despite last night’s loss, Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo should have celebrated his 600th career point that came as the result of an epic goal from the slot. Instead, the Captain was forced to address the NHL’s horrific inconsistency when it comes to officiating following the game misconduct that sent newcomer Eric Robinson to the locker room in the second period.

During the play in question, Robinson received the misconduct after officials called him for boarding Montreal Canadiens defenseman Justin Barron. Barron got up slowly and made his way off the ice shortly before the officials delivered the misconduct.

But it wasn’t like Barron was defenseless, as upon further video review, you can see that he made a quick turn and braced himself for the hit he knew was coming. You can also see that Robinson made an effort to slow up. Check out the video of the hit below from Buffalo Hockey Moments along with a snippet of Okposo’s comments via Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News.

Kyle Okposo delivers the truth regarding inconsistencies in NHL officiating

While the hit understandably did not sit well with the Canadiens, it by no means should have resulted in a misconduct if we are judging previous hits, like the one Evander Kane delivered on Jonas Brodin roughly 24 hours beforehand.

A hit that did not draw a penalty, despite the fact Brodin was defenseless and never saw it coming. Not to mention the fact Barron returned to the game while Brodin won’t be playing for quite some time thanks to Kane’s hit.

So what else did Okposo have to say about the situation? Let’s just say the NHL should be taking Okposo’s comments seriously enough to admit that their officiating didn’t just make a mistake, but the sheer inconsistency is something that must be addressed immediately.

"“It doesn’t make any sense. Like, it’s the exact same play. There’s an injury on the play. I understand that you have to call it and that’s fine. That’s not on him. I just don’t like the consistency factor.”"

Source: Observations: Sabres’ power-play struggles loom large after shootout loss by Lance Lysowski, Buffalo News

It’s long past time for the NHL to address its officiating issues, and it’s not the first time the Buffalo Sabres have been hit with bad calls. You can go all the way back to March 2023 when upon further review, Toronto somehow allowed a kick-in from Hudson Fasching to count as a goal.

Or, you can go back to Thursday night in Boston when goaltender interference was called on a would-be goal that would have put the Sabres on top 1-0 despite the fact video review showed that everyone on the Sabres was playing the puck. Buffalo went on to win that game regardless, but the point is, the NHL has got to start cracking down on its officials until they’re making consistent calls throughout each and every game.