"Some of those calls may have come on legitimate infractions, but officials also sent several players to the box on...let's call it shakier ground. Both sides expressed their displeasure with individual penalties throughout the night, but the two most dramatic calls came in the third period, with Caps captain Alex Ovechkin performing the role of both offender and offendee. Both Ovechkin and head coach Spencer Carbery protested the call, motioning to officials that Ekblad's fall was a dive, but the call stood."
"Less than a minute later, Ovechkin pulled off a caper of his own to get the Capitals the man advantage. Ovechkin appeared to have thrown himself to the ice at the Panthers' netfront, but the flop successfully drew a tripping call on Gustav Forsling. "Not a great look for the Great 8," wrote Panthers reporter Jameson Olive. "Comical flop, but the refs take the bait." Florida's fans were (understandably) not too happy about the call."
The Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers played a penalty-fueled game with less than 40 minutes at five-on-five and 11 combined penalties. Several calls were controversial, culminating in two dramatic third-period penalties involving Alex Ovechkin. Early, Ovechkin received an interference call on Aaron Ekblad that Capitals protested as a dive; after the penalty expired Brad Marchand scored to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Ovechkin drew a tripping call by appearing to fall at the Panthers' netfront, prompting criticism and unhappy Florida fans. The special-teams-heavy contest disadvantaged the Capitals given their poor power-play and penalty-kill rates.
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