Cale Makar calls the refs a ''f***ing joke'' during Game 5, but takes the high road in post-game presser

Look, I'm not here to demand perfection from any human being. But when the stakes are this high in games and ESPECIALLY with the NHL's new relationship with the various betting sites, you'd imagine that they'd want as few discrepancies as humanly possible to avoid getting it wrong. I'm not advocating for reviews on every questionable play here, I'm simply pointing out that the NHL has a responsibility to its players and fans to put out the best possible product. This ain't it.

During Friday's Game 5, the Colorado Avalanche were the subject of several pretty obvious make up calls after the officials cost the Tampa Bay Lightning Game 4 in Tampa due to an egregious missed call for too many men against the Avs. The officials, who were already under intense scrutiny, also missed a few pretty obvious infractions against Tampa, including a pretty clear hook on Cale Makar, who blew past two Tampa defenders for a scoring chance.

After Friday's razor close loss to the Bolts, Makar was asked multiple questions about the officiating, but chose not to play the same game as Tampa's head coach Jon Cooper, showing his disappointment and displeasure over the calls or a lack thereof.

"I'm not here to talk about the refs," Makar said when asked about how he thought the game was called on Friday. "We have to battle through that. It's the playoffs. There's gonna be discrepancies game to game with different people - it is what it is."

Instead of wasting his energy on worrying about things he can't change, Makar seems to have the right mindset about the whole situation, choosing to focus on the next game and the next opportunity. In this case, that's on Sunday at Amalie Arena in Tampa.