Despite losing to the Bruins on Tuesday night, the Penguins have been firing on all cylinders. Great goal tending, strong defense and their stars are scoring, but one thing that the team is lacking is clarity…from the NHL.
Over halfway through the second period, forward Brandon Tanev got a 5-minute major penalty for boarding after hitting Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi.
Tanev hit Tinordi in the chest which sent him flying, eventually hitting the boards.
Tinordi was shaky getting up but it was a clean hockey hit.
Tanev was ejected from the rest of the game for the hit.
While captain Sidney Crosby knows the referees are out there to protect the players he thinks they need more information.
"I hope as players we can get some clarity on what is a good hit and what is not. It's tough to really gauge when you are out there. I know it's fast. Right now it's really hard to know what is in fact clean and what is not. When you are out there playing, it's important that you do know that."
Coach Mike Sullivan agreed that it was a good hit.
"I think Tans plays the game hard," said head coach Mike Sullivan. "He was trying to finish his check. The player was a long way from the boards on the initial contact. I just think Tans was trying to finish his check."
In the first period Evgeni Malkin took a big hit from Tinordi that sent him down hard on the ice. Malkin would go to the dressing room and try to come back up ultimately missed the rest of the game. His current status is unclear.
So we have two clean hit and only one ejection. What's the difference? Tinordi ended up hitting into the board, Malkin didn't.
Sure hockey moves at a quick pace but as Crosby says, there isn't any clarity or consistency on what is a clean hit and what is a bad hit and refs are still getting it wrong after getting a chance to see it again with instant replay.
A few weeks ago, Washington Capitals goon Tom Wilson flattened Mark Jankowski with an obviously late hit and was given only 2 minutes for interference.
About a week later, Wilson struck again about a week later smashing Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo's head into the glass.
Carlo briefly hospitalized and Wilson was finally served a seven-game suspension. The penalty Wilson served during the game? on-ice officials didn't call one.
With centers Teddy Blueger (scratched and out longer-term with an injury) and Malkin getting knocked out of the game, Tanev's banishment resulted in them essentially being down three forwards.
Yes, the game moves fast but there needs to be more consistency from the league.
