Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand was left bewildered after referees failed to call an automatic penalty on New York Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller for yanking Marchand's helmet off during a heated scrum in the third period on Wednesday.
The incident occurred after Marchand had collided with Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, which sparked a roughing call on Marchand. While Marchand accepted the penalty on himself, he was shocked that Miller didn't receive a matching penalty for removing his helmet in the midst of the scrum.
"I was just questioning about when a guy pulls your helmet off, it's an automatic penalty," Marchand said after the game. "So I was just curious why they didn't call it when it's automatic."
Brad Marchand went on to acknowledge that his own penalty was justified but reiterated his confusion about the lack of call on Miller.
"Yeah. I mean, obviously, I hit the goalie. That's a penalty. Wasn't upset about that. I knew it was a penalty. It was more again. That's an automatic call. So, I don't know why it wasn’t a call."
The Rangers would go on to score the game-tying goal just as Marchand returned from the box, deflating the Bruins' lead.
"It's deflating, obviously so is what it," Brad Marchand said about the goal.
Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins, while for New York, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck netted. Igor Shesterkin has 15 saves, while Joonas Korpisalo made 19 saves in the loss.
Brad Marchand reflects on Bruins' loss to Rangers
Artemi Panarin gave the Rangers the lead in the second period after a turnover forced by J.T. Miller. David Pastrnak tied it at 15:03 before Elias Lindholm put Boston 2-1 ahead 16 seconds later.
"They have a good power play and we did a good job in second after they scored killing a couple off and then, get a couple goals. Unfortunately, made some mistakes in the third to kind of throw that one away, but you know we have to get ready for the next one here now," Marchand said.
In the third period, Vincent Trocheck tied it 2-2 just as a Rangers power play had expired. The game-winner came short-handed, with Chris Kreider completing New York’s 3-2 comeback victory.