The NHL's officiating double-standard on full display; Bruins forward throws similar hit to Bunting's, but with no recourse
By now, most in Leafs Nation have seen the hit that earned Michael Bunting a 5-minute major penalty, a game misconduct and a 3-game suspension. In case you missed it, however, I've included the link to Bunting's hit below.
It's wild to think that Player Safety threw the book at Bunting, who had never been suspended or even fined before - especially since they let Erik Cernak get away with this hit, from the same game, clean and clear.
Well, after last night's Bruins/Panthers game, we have another example of the horrendous double-standard at play in the league. Late in last night's 6-3 Panthers win, Bruins forward Tomas Nosek took a run at Eric Staal, clipping him in the head with a similar type of hit to the one Bunting had delivered on Cernak. Have a look at the hit below.
While Bunting was not even looking at Cernak when the contact was made, Nosek was lining up Staal and knew exactly what type of hit he was about to deliver. Still, Nosek is not penalized on the play. As you'll also recall, Bunting's hearing announcement was almost immediate, being announced just after midnight. Well, here we are well into the morning following the Nosek hit on Staal and Player Safety has still yet to make a peep - though I doubt anything is coming on that front.
People often accuse Leaf fans of exaggerating, blowing things out of proportion and even whining when things don't go their way. Yet there are so many examples of similar plays not receiving any attention or even a second look from the league, both before and after the Leafs have been slapped with a penalty, fine or a suspension. Maybe it's not that we blow anything out of proportion. Maybe it's just that we have a hard time staying quiet through all of these injustices.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 20 | 2188 ANSWERS The NHL's officiating double-standard on full display; Bruins forward throws similar hit to Bunting's, but with no recourse Does Nosek deserve the same treatment Bunting got after throwing a similar hit on Eric Staal? | ||
| Definitely | 1539 | 70.3 % |
| No, the two plays were different | 219 | 10 % |
| I'm not even surprised anymore | 430 | 19.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
