Referees Miss A Blatant Boarding Call Between New Jersey And Pittsburgh

The referees missed an obvious boarding call during the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils game last night. New Jersey forward Michael McLeod was chasing Pittsburgh defender Brian Dumoulin toward the end boards. Dumoulin was focused on retrieving the puck towards the end boards. With Dumoulin's attention focused on the puck, McLeod shoved the Pittsburgh defender into the boards causing him to crash violently into the boards. It was a clear boarding call that for some reason the referees did not call. Dumoulin was slow to return to his feet but did stay in the game. Captain Sidney Crosby immediately came to his teammates defense and started shoving McLeod. Perhaps there could have been more of a response to the hit from other Pittsburgh teammates. Watch the replay below.

Dumoulin was lucky to not have been seriously injured on this play as his head and shoulder hit the end boards at full speed. McLeod has to recognize that you can't hit a defenseless player like that, even if a penalty wasn't called. The case could be made that at least a two-minute boarding penalty should have been assessed and even a five minute major penalty does not seem out of the question on this play. Boarding penalties can be very dangerous, and the officials need to make those calls when they see them. The officiating crew last night missed certainly missed this call. Missed calls like this put player safety in jeopardy.

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