Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Sends Jason Zucker to the Locker Room After Questionable Hit from Behind
Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker was banged up tonight after he took a questionable-looking hit from Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
The play came during the first period as the Senators were breaking the puck out of their zone.
There was a temporary board battle near the blue line involving Jason Zucker and a Senators player when Brady Tkachuk came in from behind.
Tkachuk was given a two-minute minor penalty for the hit, but many fans thought that it could have been worth more than that.
Some fans even pointed to a play earlier this year where Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes was given a major and a game misconduct for a much less offensive hit.
With all that being said, one fairly significant factor the Department of Player Safety always seems to consider in these incidents is the outcome for the victimized player.
If a player is seriously injured on a play then the punishment is often worse.
In this case, Zucker returned to the game after missing just a few shifts, so perhaps the league will look the other way.
Tkachuk does not exactly have the best reputation though, so he could very well still be in trouble.
Regardless of the outcome though, plays like this highlight the need for more clarity and accountability from the NHL's referees.
Why was this play only worth a minor penalty when many like it have not been penalties at all, and some have been majors?
We hoped that making major penalties reviewable would fix this problem, but it seems as though the refs are still scared to call them, even knowing they can take the penalty off the board or downgrade it to a minor.
The playoffs are one thing, but this is a regular-season game in the middle of January. It should not be hard to get the call correct.
