Photo credit: NHL

The NHL caused another controversy over a critical decision ahead of the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Finals, set to go down tonight in Florida.

With the Oilers once again facing elimination, every aspect of the game is under scrutiny by fans and media.

The League made the decision to send out referees Steve Kozari and Dan O’Rourke tonight for game 5 as the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers battle in what could be the final game of the season.

From Scouting the Refs:

Refs for @EdmontonOilers @FlaPanthers are Dan O’Rourke (#9) and Steve Kozari (#40). Tonight’s officials:

Controversial choice: NHL sends referees Dan O’Rourke and Steve Kozari to Game 5

In the playoffs, Kozari and O’Rourke were both widely criticized. They were accused by many of being unfair during games, often making questionable calls against the Oilers.

There is no reason, no reason at all, why the NHL should have picked Kozari. He’s shown clear bias against Edmonton and there’s a history of issues there. The simplest choice was just to select a different ref and somehow they f**k up. NHL proving why it remains the worst-run league

Wow. Rourke and Kozari … Oilers are screwed.

This is how they fix the Finals. Using the same 4 biased refs throughout. Florida wins due to the all-American #buttmanAgenda. Here we go again… http://thebluepaint.com #31YearsAndCounting #ZipCodeCup #ButtmanAgenda #NHLBookiesRiggedHockeyLeague

In game four, when the Oilers beat the Panthers 8-1, both Kozari and O’Rourke weren’t working. Now that they’re back on the ice, fans have the opportunity to feed rigging rumors.

Do you think the NHL made the wrong decision with their controversial referee choices for game five of the Stanley Cup Finals?