Jim Montgomery comments on the NHL's favoritism towards Sidney Crosby.

The head coach of the Boston Bruins shares his unfiltered thoughts on how the NHL handles officiating around Crosby.

Jonathan Larrivee
Jonathan Larrivee
Published 11 months ago
Jim Montgomery comments on the NHL's favoritism towards Sidney Crosby.

The topic of favoritism is always a hot button issue in the world of sports and on Saturday, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery may have hit that button.

After his Boston Bruins took a hard fought win over the Pittsburgh Penguin, Montgomery shared his thoughts on some of the officiating that took place during the game. Specifically, Montgomery called out what he calls "Sid Rules," special treatment shown to the face of the National Hockey League, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

Montgomery admitted that the favoritism shown to the NHL's top star made him hesitant to challenge a goal during the course of the game, although Montgomery didn't seem to mind too much.

"OK, we thought it was goalie interference because Swayman was hit in the head," said Montgomery of a failed coach's challenge during today's game. "Now, you know how there used to be the Jordan Rules (in the NBA)? I've been here (in Pittsburgh) now five times, and something I'm almost sure that's going to happen - didn't happen tonight: They're going to get a 2 on 1 in the first minute, because we're going to make a mistake; they're going to get a 5 on 3, and you're going to be killing a lot of penalties. This is the third time l've been here where we challenge - you get it wrong sometimes. I call it the Sid Rules. He's a great player. He's a great player. And you know what, the league should take care of their superstars. That's why I was kind of hesitant about challenging it."

Montgomery has superstars of his own on the Bruins roster in the form of players like Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, so a world in which officials give superstars some leniency benefits him in the long run. When asked if he felt his team had gotten the short end of the stick in terms of the officiating on Saturday, Montgomery again indicated that he didn't have an issue with how things were called.

"No. No, I don't think we were on the wrong end of anything," admitted the Bruins head coach. "But I do think the hockey gods rewarded us in the end."

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