Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy calls Islanders ‘New York Saints’ over lack of penalty calls

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy isn’t happy with how many penalties his team has been assessed in the Islanders series.

After the Bruins lost to New York 5-4 on Monday, Cassidy said during his postgame news conference that his counterparts have sold a narrative that they are “more like the New York Saints, not the New York Islanders,” according to a video shared by NBC Boston.

“They play hard and they play the right way, but I feel like we’re the same way and the calls, the exact calls that are getting called on us do not get called on them and I do not know why. These are very good officials. They’re at this point in the season for a reason,” Cassidy said. “They play hard. Hard brand of hockey. Love the way they play. But they commit as many infractions as we do, trust me. So it’s just a matter of calling them.”

Cassidy said during the conference that several high stick penalties have been called against the Bruins, and at a significantly higher rate than the Islanders.

When asked about Cassidy’s comment, Islanders coach Barry Trotz responded, “You’ll have to ask him about that. Just look where we wound up during the year, we were the least penalized team during the whole year so I don’t know what that’s about,” (according to New York Post reporter Mollie Walker).

Does Cassidy have a point? Well, on Monday, the Islanders were called for two penalties to Boston’s four. The Bruins have been flagged for fewer penalties only once in the series: in Game 4, a 4-1 Islanders win. Overall, Boston has been called for 19 penalties to New York’s 15.

But the disparity in penalties shouldn’t be surprising, given how the two teams played during the regular season. Trotz’s Islanders were called for just 136 penalties — 130 minor and six major — during the regular season, the fewest in the league. Boston was called for 209 — 194 minor and 15 major. That’s good for the second-most in the NHL, behind only the Lightning’s 214.

The Bruins have dropped two straight to the Islanders to fall behind 3-2 in the series. They will head to New York on Wednesday for a potentially decisive Game 6. Should Cassidy’s team win, the Game 7 matchup will return to Boston on Friday.

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