Alex Burrows Claims Referee Threatened to 'Get Me Back Tonight'

Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks scored two goals during his team's 3-2 loss against Nashville on Monday, giving him nine goals in his past four games. But that's not why he's making headlines on Tuesday morning.

Burrows was at the center of some controversy with referee Stephane Auger that includes allegations of a pregame threat from a referee out for revenge.

Back on Dec. 8 in a game against the Predators, Burrows was on the receiving end of a hit from Nashville's Jerrod Smithson, who received a five-minute major for boarding and a 10-minute game misconduct. The penalties were issued by Auger, who happened to be the official for Monday's game between Vancouver and Nashville.

Burrows claims that Auger threatened him before the game for faking an injury after the hit and making him "look bad."

"It started in warmups before the anthem," said Burrows following the game. "the ref came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the Smithson hit and he was going to get me back tonight."

There is video of the two having a discussion prior to the game, but it's impossible to know what was said.

Not only did Burrows finish with a pair of goals, he also recorded a game-high 16 penalty minutes, including a two-minute minor for diving, a two-minute minor for interference, a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct ... all of which came in the third period.

You can see the penalties right here.