The Carolina Hurricanes scored two goals in just over a minute’s play in the second period against the Calgary Flames to take a 3-0 lead in the game.
However, the Calgary Flames played better after the two quick goals, and with 13:01 played in the second frame, they scored and got one back thanks to former Hurricane Jake Bean.
The Flames started to build momentum, but after a controversial incident, they were given a penalty, and it was a controversial one.
During a battle in front of the goal, Pyotr Kochetkov saw his goalie mask fall off and onto the ice.
The referees, as they should for the goalies’ safety, blew the whistle. The play stopped, but when the puck reached MacKenzie Weegar, he still decided to take a shot against the open net, with Kochetkov lying on the ice without his helmet.
READ MORE: Jack Hughes humiliated after Michael Rasmussen’s empty-net goal
Luckily, the puck didn’t hit Kochetkov in his unprotected head, but it wasn’t far away.
Weegar was sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike behavior, but on social media, the criticism against the Flames player was massive, with everyone saying the exact same thing about it: that there was no doubt that Weegar had heard the whistle—and if he didn’t, he was probably the only one in the arena who hadn’t.
“That was pretty f—kin’ well after the whistle; he already let up, why bother sending the puck at the goalie at all?” one user said on social media.
“That was clearly after the whistle went,” another said.
“A good 2 seconds after the whistle. Hits are considered ’late’ if they’re 0.5 to 0.7 seconds late. That was stupid and dangerous,” a third responded.
“Pretty unimpressed with Weegar there. Claiming he didn’t hear the whistle? No way. And the fans booing the refs after—give me a break, guys,” a fourth added.
”He’s lucky it was just a penalty. I’ve seen brawls for less,” a fifth said.
READ MORE: Craig Berube absolutely loses it on his star players
