Lightning vs. Stars Exposes Major NHL Officiating Flaw

The Tampa Bay Lightning are playing their best hockey in years, and the entire Eastern Conference has been put on notice by their recent surge. Heading into their matchup with the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay had ripped off 11 straight wins, tying a franchise record before seeing the streak snapped in a shootout loss to a struggling St. Louis Blues team.

During the run, the Lightning took down some of the league’s heavyweights. They beat the Hurricanes 6–4, handled the Panthers 4–2, outlasted the Canadiens in a 5–4 shootout, and knocked off the Avalanche 4–2. All of it came while Tampa Bay was dealing with a severely depleted blue line, making the surge even more impressive.

On the other side, Dallas arrived in a different place. Still one of the NHL’s strongest teams, the Stars stumbled out of the gate in 2026 with four straight losses and now sit tied with the Minnesota Wild at 27-13-9 for second in the Western Conference. Since the Quinn Hughes trade, the Central has become the league’s toughest division, and while that grind may help in April, it has made January unforgiving.

This game also marked Mikko Rantanen’s 700th career regular-season appearance, and Dallas was desperate to avoid pushing its slide further. With two loaded rosters and a rematch of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, the matchup delivered intensity. But one moment stood out for the wrong reason.

A Familiar Controversy for Tampa Bay

This wasn’t Tampa Bay’s first run-in with officiating confusion this season. In December, the Lightning lost a dramatic game against the Pittsburgh Penguins when Nikita Kucherov’s late tying goal was waved off for a supposed hand pass from Brandon Hagel — a controversial call that appeared to be nothing more than a deflection (video below).

Jon Cooper and the Lightning found Nikita Kucherov’s overturned goal “laughable” after it was ruled that Brandon Hagel used his hand to pass the puck on the same play.

Did the officials make the right call, or is Cooper speaking the truth? ⤵️

(🎥: @nhl, @jayrecher) pic.twitter.com/qFZFAxYSxA
— BarDown (@BarDown) December 5, 2025

Days later, a nearly identical play went the Florida Panthers’ way and was ruled a good goal. The inconsistency raised eyebrows and had many fans upset, but what happened against Dallas exposed something deeper.

This time, the call wasn’t blatant. It was procedural, and that made it more troubling.

The Call That Exposed a Major NHL Flaw

Three and a half minutes into the second period, Lightning rookie Jack Finley was given a penalty for high-sticking Kyle Capobianco. Capobianco was bleeding from the mouth, which automatically upgraded the minor to a four-minute double minor.

With the game tied 1–1 and Dallas having one of the league’s best power plays, the situation looked dangerous for Tampa Bay. But because blood was involved, officials were allowed to review the play.

The replay told a completely different story. Finley never touched Capobianco. The high stick came from Stars forward Radek Faksa (video below).

The NHL is lucky there was blood. Without it this wrong call stands. Should minor penalties be reviewable so mistakes like this can’t happen? #TexasHockey #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/vtUxBM66hM
— Sam Len (@SamLenSports) January 20, 2026

The penalty was wiped away. Crisis averted, but that raised a troubling question: what if Capobianco hadn’t been bleeding?

A Rule That Makes No Sense in 2026

If there’s no blood, there’s no review. That means Dallas would have gone on a power play because one of its own players injured a teammate. No correction. No second look. Just a wrong call standing because it didn’t meet the review threshold.

That’s the flaw. Minor penalties can’t be reviewed. Major penalties can. The only difference, in this case, was a visible cut. In 2026, with slow-motion replay available from every angle, that distinction feels outdated.

Officials will always miss calls. That’s part of sports. But when technology exists to fix obvious mistakes and the rulebook refuses to allow it, the problem isn’t human error — it’s the system.

Imagine that scenario in a playoff game. Or worse, in the Stanley Cup Final. The outrage would be deafening, and rightly so.

A Win That Avoided Bigger Questions — For Now

Fortunately for Tampa Bay, the officiating scare didn’t affect the outcome. The Lightning regrouped and pulled away for a convincing 4–1 win, reminding everyone why they’re a legitimate Cup contender.

With the victory, Tampa Bay now sits atop the Eastern Conference and owns the second-best record in the NHL behind the league-leading Colorado Avalanche. They’re tied in points with the Hurricanes and Red Wings but hold two and three games in hand, respectively.

The win also extended Tampa Bay’s point streak to 13 games, tying the fourth-longest run in franchise history. With upcoming games against the Sharks, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets, there’s a real chance it keeps growing.

The Lightning left Dallas with two points. The NHL, meanwhile, left with another reminder that its rulebook hasn’t caught up to the modern game.

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