Connor Clifton was called for a bogus penalty in the second period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday thanks to a great acting job by Vladimir Tarasenko.
The St. Louis Blues were up 2-1 on the Boston Bruins with a little over six minutes remaining in the second period. Tarasenko was going after a puck against the boards when Clifton skated near him to swipe the puck. The contact between them was minimal, though Tarasenko did shove Clifton.
But check out the embellishment by Tarasenko:
This is a penalty in the Stanley Cup Final? Great sell-job from Vladimir Tarasenko pic.twitter.com/8XY5F31LbM
— Evan Marinofsky (@emarinofsky) June 4, 2019
That acting job helped draw 2-minute minor penalty on Clifton for an illegal check to the head.
Perhaps as a measure of karma, the Bruins tied the game on a Brandon Carlo shorthanded goal about 30 seconds later. Tarasenko did score a goal in the first period to put the Blues up 2-1.
