Jared Bednar isn’t sure he understands some NHL rules.
The Colorado Avalanche coach can’t figure out why Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn wasn’t sent to the penalty box after his high, hard hit on Avs defenceman Devon Toews early in the second period of Game 2 of their second-round series on Thursday.
Benn’s shoulder appeared initially to made contact with Toews in the upper shoulder or neck area, perhaps just below the head at first on the hit behind the Colorado net. Toews’ head snapped back and hit Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston in the chest.
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The play originally was not called a penalty, but referees Francis Charron and Frederick L’Ecuyer then huddled and called a major penalty and said it would be reviewed.
After a quick chat with the replay centre, the major call was reversed. Bednar, whose team was trailing 2-0 at the time, made his displeasure known on the bench.
“Does he catch a piece of his shoulder? Yeah, I guess you can argue that. But the target is high. It’s at his head, it makes contact with the head,” Bednar said following Colorado’s 5-3 loss.
“I’ve seen many times guys get called for the headshot penalty with a lot less than that. But I guess they didn’t think so and this time of the year, you’ve got to play through some of that stuff. But for me, it makes me wonder again what rules I know and don’t know and will never probably figure out.
“It is what it is, you’ve got to play through it and I’m glad he’s OK. It’s a physical game this time of year. But I can’t understand how it wasn’t (at least) a penalty, even if it wasn’t a five.”
A trainer came out to attend to Toews, who exited briefly before returning to the game.
Rule 48.1 in the NHL rulebook focuses on illegal checks to the head. Part of it states: the refs must consider “whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not picked as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward” when determining whether head contact was avoidable.
The series is now tied at 1-1.
