Another playoff a game, another disputable decision by a referee.
Monday's instance came in Game 6 between the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets when Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy leveled Columbus winger Josh Anderson just before the end of the second period.
McAvoy was given a two-minute minor penalty for the hit and aside from being poorly received by the rest of the Blue Jackets, many took to Twitter to express their displeasure with the call.
For starters, the Blue Jackets:
— x-Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) May 7, 2019
Some were straight to the point. Establishing McAvoy should be out of the game and/or suspended.
Charlie McAvoy probably could not have picked the head of Josh Anderson any cleaner if he tried. That hit is a suspension.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 7, 2019
Charlie McAvoy is lucky to still be in this game. I think the hit was worthy of a major penalty, but again, it’s playoffs so refs will be a little more lenient. Maybe it will be reviewed by the @NHL.
— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) May 7, 2019
Others had their fun and of course, had to bring Nazem Kadri into the mix.
Despite pleas from the Columbus bench about the severity of the head contact, refs said it’s only a two-minute penalty pic.twitter.com/ipr8GY0VpX
— DL (@davelozo) May 7, 2019
Nazem Kadri has been suspended for Boston Defenceman Charlie McAvoy’s hit to the head of Columbus Forward Josh Anderson
— TD (@tdias_5115) May 7, 2019
Nazem Kadri’s offseason training after watching the Charlie McAvoy hit called a minor penalty. pic.twitter.com/1rxhbOeL0Y
— ETD51 (@ETD51) May 7, 2019
While many demanded the referees call a five-minute major penalty, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet and NHL Network discovered that isn't an option.
Hard to believe that's only a minor penalty for Charlie McAvoy. It appeared that referee Kelly Sutherland was originally calling a major after McAvoy caught Josh Anderson in the head.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 7, 2019
The answer to this question is found here. There is no major option for the "illegal check to the head" penalty. pic.twitter.com/9afw7VGnUg
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 7, 2019