New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad had his five-minute major penalty taken away following review from the NHL Wednesday.
Tuesday night was not a great night for the NHL and officiating.
First, it was the Ottawa Senators receiving a gift goal vs. the New York Islanders after Robin Lehner was clearly interfered with. Then it was a debacle for the New York Rangers in Dallas.
With the Rangers on the powerplay, Mika Zibanejad would go back behind his net to try and get the puck. He would make contact with Stars forward Radek Faksa who went down and was slow to get up.
After there was originally no call, Zibanejad was given a five-minute major and ejected from the game.
#NYR fans, did Mika Zibanejad deserve a 5-minute major? pic.twitter.com/7M75QnCn7a
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) March 6, 2019
As brutal of a call that it was, the NHL is attempting to make things right, rescinding the major penalty to Zibanejad and giving the Rangers another apology.
Too little, too late.
Like Dave Maloney said on MSG Networks following the game, the call on Zibanejad was without a doubt the difference in the game. It also didn’t help that Kevin Shattenkirk was assessed a minor for “slashing” shortly after the penalty Zibanejad.
The Rangers would go on to kill a five-on-three, along with the remaining time on the major but the damage was done. They never were able to sustain pressure in the Stars zone, eventually falling to the Stars 1-0.
Head coach David Quinn was asked following practice Wednesday his thoughts on the league changing the call. Quinn simply told Newsday’s Colin Stephenson “we lead the league in apologies.”
Notes From Practice
- Henrik Lundqvist is scheduled to make his return in goal Thursday after backing up Alexandar Georgiev the last two games
- Lias Andersson is expected to return to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday
- Marc Staal’s status for Thursday’s game in Detroit is up in the air with him dealing with flu-like symptoms. Staal has yet to miss a game this season.
(All information provided from Colin Stephenson of Newsday.)
