NHL rescinds another head-hit match penalty

Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

For the second time in a week, an NHL on-ice official erroneously called a match penalty on a player, only to have it rescinded later.

And for the second time, it proved to be a game-turner.

This time, San Jose Sharks player Andrew Desjardins leveled Chicago Blackhawks forward Jamal Mayers with a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit during the second period with the score tied 3-3. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith reacted and fought Desjardins. He received an additional four minutes in the fight for instigating and being an instigator while wearing a visor. But because Desjardins got the five minutes for the hit to the head, instead of the Sharks being on a power play, there was four-on-four play.

"It was a terrible call," Sharks coach Todd McLellan told reporters after the game, according to The Associated Press. "I don't know if we're going to come back or not but at that point we're still in the game and we should have been on a four-minute power play. That's a good hockey hit, but the linesman called it. No one else saw it."

There's no guarantee that the Sharks would have scored on the power play, but Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane did score during the four-on-four. The match penalty was rescinded after the game.

"The way the linesman saw it on the ice, he was convinced it was a major penalty. Unfortunately, he was wrong," supervisor of officials Mick McGeough told a pool reporter, according to the AP. "It's been overruled, taken care of by the league and Brendan Shanahan and the safety committee, and there are no more issues right now."

Last week's match penalty had a more direct impact on the game.

St. Louis Blues captain David Backes hit Detroit Red Wings defenseman Kent Huskins with a hard but clean shoulder-to-chest check. Huskins' head snapped back from the force of impact and a referee behind the play, noticing that, called a hit to the head penalty.

Backes was ejected and the Red Wings were given a five-minute power play with a little more than 10 minutes left in the game. The Blues had to kill it off without one of their better penalty killers.

Pavel Datsyuk broke a tie during the power play and the Red Wings went on to win.

The match penalty was rescinded later.