Toronto Maple Leafs upset after blindside hit to the head goes uncalled
In the third period of last night's close and contentious game between the Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville forward Nino Niederreiter gave David Kampf of the Leafs a blindside hit to the head, forcing him to leave the game. After the referees discussed among themselves, they determined there was no penalty on the play.
In the clip, it's clear that the hit is at least interference. Kampf is nowhere close to possession of the puck when Niederreiter makes contact with him. In addition to being interference, it's a direct hit to the head. In bracing for his pick against Kampf, Niederreiter lowers his shoulder and elbow, making contact with Kampf's head.
Kampf went down on the play, and went to the locker room after the hit. Kampf was pulled into the quiet room by the NHL's concussion spotters, but would eventually return.
After the play was blown dead, the referees briefly discussed with each other whether or not a penalty would be assessed, and they have the ability to do so when there's a potential major penalty missed.
Regardless, the play should have been called immediately. Whether or not it was a hit to the head or not, should have been overridden by the fact it was interference at least. Not only that, but as this fan points out, it was directly in the referee's line of sight.
After being heavily fined by the league over the holiday break, the Leafs were careful in their post-game comments, and with their responses in game tonight. Sheldon Keefe notably had a much more calm demeanour compared to his most recent blow ups on Wes McCauley.
| POLL | ||
Should this have been a penalty? | ||
| Yes, an illegal hit to the head | 32 | 47.1 % |
| Yes, it's interference | 26 | 38.2 % |
| No, it's just incidental contact | 10 | 14.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
