Vegas Golden Knights blame officials for blowing a 3-0 lead in five minutes

After blowing a 3-0 lead in five minutes, Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault thinks the referees stole the game.

Every time a team has something extraordinary go wrong in a big game, the fall back for fans is to claim it was rigged.

But what happens when it’s a player singing that tune?

That’s what Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault is doing in wake of a historic collapse. Vegas blew a 3-0 lead with roughly ten minutes left of its Game 7 matchup against the San Jose Sharks.

The catalyst for this was a five-minute major penalty called against Cody Eakin after he cross-checked Joe Pavelski across the face and into the ice.

Marchessault took issue with it being the five-minute major that led to the window of opportunity that the Sharks exploded through like that hybrid shark in Jaws 3D. His assessment was that the referees stealing the game.

"“It’s a f—ing joke. To call five minutes for that? It changed the whole outcome of the game,” Marchessault said after a 5-4 loss to the Sharks on Tuesday night. “Like, seriously, what is that? It’s so disappointing. The game’s not even close. It’s 3-0. Call a [two-minute minor]? OK. But a five? For something you don’t even see? You just call the outcome. It’s a f—ing joke. It’s embarrassing. That’s what it is.”"

For context, this is what Marchessault said was worthy of a two-minute penalty but ended up getting five from officials.

To be fair, it doesn’t appear any official directly saw the hit. When Pavelski hits the ice, no arms are raised calling for a penalty. It’s only after he’s on the ice for a few moments that officials stop the game and after they see pools of blood that the penalty is discussed.

But it was a filthy hit. The blood on the ice isn’t from Pavelski’s mouth, it’s pouring out of the vents in his helmet from a head wound.

Marchessault can be as sore as he wants about the penalty, but it’s a phenomenally stupid stance to take. To be the ‘iT wAs ThE rEfS’ guy is never a good look, especially after it was the garbage Vegas defense that allowed four goals in five minutes, not the officials.

That’s almost unprecedented in NHL history.

Officials may have opened up a chance for the Sharks to get back into the game but the putrid Vegas defense is what Marchessault should be furious at.