Even in the NHL, fans are quite often outraged by the inconsistent standards of referees, who look at similar offenses from a completely different perspective.
Reputation obviously also plays a role. Zadorov is not very popular among the guys in pinstripes. In February, he served a two-game suspension for a tackle on Detroit’s Lucas Raymond. After being traded from Calgary, the Russian defenseman collected a total of 94 penalty minutes in 47 games, the most of any Canucks team. However, the latest additions to the 28-year-old back’s collection were quite debatable.
Already a two-minute penalty for a high stick that didn’t touch Alex Pietrangelo’s head at all. With ten seconds left in the second period, Zador’s match ended when he shadowed Howden and then slammed him against the Plexiglas. The Canadian pair of judges Sutherland and McIsaac had the foul projected from the record and almost sent the two-meter defender straight under the showers. Vancouver ended up leaving Vegas with a 3-6 loss.
The match 4 thousand kilometers further east in Newark, where the Devils lost to Pittsburgh, ended with the same result, but from the home side’s point of view. The guests took the points thanks to a five-goal third period. Malkin, who was sent off a few minutes later for a foul on the German, also contributed to the score at 3:3. He ran into the 20-year-old Slovakian, who was processing the puck at the goal post, at speed and hit his head against the fence.
However, the duo of referees Charron and Schlenker initially did not even whistle for a foul and reacted only to the lying German, which for a change did not please Malkin, who only very reluctantly headed for the penalty area.
“Why did Zadorov get the rest of the game and Malkin barely two minutes?” fans wondered in embarrassment. However, the Penguins’ offensive superstar was viewed differently by the referees than his Vancouver compatriot.
The shaken German left the ice leaning forward, but he came back at the end of the game, which is also good news for the Slovak national team before the World Championships in Prague and Ostrava. The Devils are six points behind the promotion positions with seven games left in the regular season. The German should be one of the key Slovak reinforcements from the NHL in the Czech Republic.
