Cole Caufield wants referees to explain late calls after Canadiens’ OT loss

Cole Caufield said Wednesday that NHL referees should explain calls that swing games. The Montreal Canadiens winger was speaking after practice, a day after his late slashing penalty gave the Minnesota Wild a power play that carried into overtime.

“If they felt like that was the right call, I think at some point maybe they should have to answer questions themselves,” Caufield told reporters.

Caufield said he respects the difficulty of officiating at NHL speed, but questioned how certain an official could be when making the call from across the ice. He said the timing made it especially important to get right.

Caufield was penalized in the final minute of regulation at the Bell Centre after Minnesota defenceman Quinn Hughes’s stick broke as the two went for the puck. Kirill Kaprizov scored on the power play 21 seconds into overtime to give the Wild a 2-1 win.