After losing five straight games from Jan. 3 to Jan. 12, the Ottawa Senators have improved and found something in their game.
They’ve now won four of their last six games, and as they won against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, it marked the perfect end to a perfect road trip.
They had a two-game ”Mothers Trip” with games against the Flyers and the Canadiens.
The mothers saw the Senators win 4-1 on Tuesday, but they also saw one of the rarest penalties in the NHL be assessed to one of the team’s players.
In the second period, Brady Tkachuk lost his stick, and as Vladimir Tarasenko skated by, he kicked the stick up back to his teammate.
It was beautiful and skillfully done by Tarasenko, but unfortunately, it’s not allowed. Tarasenko seemed confused sitting in the penalty box, and so were many fans watching on TV.
It happens sometimes in the NHL, and when Auston Matthews pulled off the move, flipping a teammate’s lost stick back to him, it went viral worldwide, with everyone absolutely loving it.
But this time, Tarasenko was penalized for it, which had fans confused. The rule hasn’t changed; it just so happened that the referees missed the call on Matthews that time. But as reporter Jack Richardson pointed out on X, the NHL themself posted the video of Matthew’s move.
Some find it strange that the league would post an obvious missed call from the refs, but there’s no denying that the move is pretty slick when pulled off accurately.
But on social media, many were upset about the call, although it was correct judging by the rulebook.
”Refs making these types of calls but not cross checking or boarding…” one disappointed fan said.
”2 minutes for having fun,” another said.
”Lame call,” a third added.
