Kirill Kaprizov gets hip checked by a referee.

Players in the National Hockey League can often have somewhat contentious and even at times acrimonious relationships with the on ice officials that call their game, and on Sunday night NHL referee Graham Skilliter didn't do himself any favors when it comes to his relationship with Minnesota Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov.

Kaprizov and the Wild were looking to get things back on the right track after a less than successful run of games as of late by picking up a win over the Dallas Stars, but as it would turn out they were playing against the refs, or at least one of them, as well.

Kaprizov was trying to skate the puck up the boards at one point in the game when Skilliter delivered what looked very much like a hip check to the Russian forward. Now to be clear I don't, not even for a second, believe that Skilliter was intentionally trying to hit Kaprizov with his backside, it just so happens that this was how the two men ended up colliding along the boards. It wasn't the most forceful of hits either but it was enough to completely derail Kaprizov's forward momentum and it knocked him both off of the puck and down to the ice as well.

Thankfully I think the only injury that Kaprizov may have suffered as a result of this play will perhaps be a bruised ego, but I can't imagine that he nor the Wild were very happy about how things played out in the moment. I imagine that Kaprizov may also get a little ribbing on the subject from his fellow Wild teammates over the course of the next couple days, and perhaps the next time they have Skilliter overseeing one of their games as an official as well.

Believe it or not, Skilliter didn't even give himself a penalty for his infraction on the play, a sign that there is really no justice when it comes to officiating in the NHL.

If you didn't see the incident live, we've got you covered with the slow motion replay that you can check out below.