What Jon Cooper told the referees before Ivan Demidov’s controversial penalty has fans reacting
Ivan Demidov saw Jon Cooper press the officials, and moments later the Bell Centre erupted over a penalty call that changed the whole mood.
That’s why this sequence is still hanging over Montreal the next morning.
The turning point didn’t start with Demidov. It started when Brayden Point appeared to take a high stick and the officials let play move on without a whistle.
Tampa Bay’s bench didn’t hide its anger. Cooper went straight to the referee, and that’s where the entire sequence started to feel off for a lot of people in the building.
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A few moments later, Demidov was hit with a goaltender interference call that left reporters, fans, and plenty of observers staring at each other in disbelief.
That’s the part Montreal supporters can’t shake. The gap between the missed infraction on Point and the penalty on Demidov was just enough to raise every alarm.
The timing is what fuels the backlash for the officials in Habs vs. Lightning game 6
No one can prove the referee was influenced. That needs to be said. But the order of events made the call look bad the second it happened.
And Cooper’s reputation adds another layer. He’s sharp, polished, and knows how to work a conversation with officials without wasting a word.
That’s why some Canadiens fans believe the pressure from Tampa’s bench mattered.
Not because there’s hard proof, but because the sequence felt too clean, too sudden, and too convenient.
Did the referee feel he had missed one on Point and then react on the next borderline play?
That question is now sitting at the center of the discussion.
It also lands in a series where officiating has already been under the microscope.
So this wasn’t just one call in a vacuum. It dropped into a game already loaded with tension.
For Martin St-Louis’ group, that may be the biggest issue now.
The Canadiens can complain all they want, but frustration can drag a team off its game faster than any system breakdown.
Montreal has to park that anger before the next puck drop. If that call stays in their heads, the Lightning get exactly what they want.
![Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] View of a Team Canada logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre.](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/663107.webp "Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] View of a Team Canada logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre.")
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YESTERDAY
MAY 1, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Tage Thompson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Gage Goncalves | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | 1 | - | 1 | |
| David Pastrnak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Colton Sissons | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Smith | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kailer Yamamoto | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Doan | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Dominic James | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||