Montreal Canadiens: The Matt Niskanen suspension is another NHL inconsistency

Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno jumped into a hit that drove Mikhail Sergachev‘s face into the glass. No call. Pierre-Luc Dubois hit Alex Killorn in a vulnerable position sending him into the boards and pushed Nikita Kucherov face-first into the glass. No call. Sammy Blais of the St. Louis Blues caused a scrum after a clear boarding call on Brandon Sutter, but it was ignored. Andrei Svechnikov was hit in the head by Boston Bruins Charlie McAvoy. No call.

I know many will say, “Oh, it’s playoff hockey, the refs will let things go,” but it’s getting to the point where players, whether intentionally or unintentionally, are taking advantage of that. No one knows what is and isn’t a call anymore. And it results in moments like what happened between Brendan Gallagher and Matt Niskanen.

Yes, Gallagher was cross-checking Philadelphia Flyers players all night. No one is disputing that, and if you are, you didn’t watch the game. The issue is that if all legitimate infractions were called, we wouldn’t get to the point where Gallagher is cross-checked in the face. And again, to make matters worse, there wasn’t a call even though the referee was to the right of the entire play because that’s where the puck was.

Niskanen’s suspension is another example of inconsistency.

Gallagher’s done. He’s out of the playoffs after requiring surgery on his broken jaw, and he’ll be taking meals from a straw for the next couple of months. Niskanen was given a one-game suspension for it.