Devils HC Sheldon Keefe delivers fiery response to Timo Meier's controversial ejection for kneeing Martin Necas

New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about forward Timo Meier's controversial ejection for kneeing Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas during the Devils' 5-2 loss on Sunday, calling it a "tough one."

The incident occurred in the third period when Necas rushed up the ice with the puck in the neutral zone. Meier moved in to deliver a hit and made contact with Necas' left knee. Officials reviewed the play and decided to give Meier a five-minute major penalty, leading to his ejection from the game.

Necas struggled to get off the ice initially but returned shortly after heading to the locker room. The Hurricanes capitalized on the extended power play, with Jackson Blake scoring to give Carolina a 3-2 lead en route to the 5-2 win.

Keefe expressed frustration with the call after the game, saying:

"It is a tough one. Obviously, the refs, when they see it live, don't see anything there. They see it as clean. They review it because of the guy laying on the ice after the fact, and the guy laying on the ice plays three and a half of the five minute major."

"It is a tough message for the players that maybe if you take a big hit that laying down on the ice has its benefits."

This isn't Meier's first ejection this season for a hit. On Nov. 25 against Nashville, he received a game misconduct for cross-checking Zachary L'Heureux and was later suspended one game.

Meier has two previous fines in his NHL career but no prior suspensions over his nine seasons before this incident.

Paul Cotter and Ondrej Palat scored for the Devils, while Jake Allen made 36 saves. Sebastian Aho, Jack Roslovic (two goals), Jackson Blake and Dmitry Orlov provided the Hurricanes' scoring as Dustin Tokarski stopped 21 shots.

Devils forward Paul Cotter's take on Timo Meier's ejection for kneeing Martin Necas

Paul Cotter provided his perspective on Timo Meier's ejection for kneeing Martin Necas. Cotter suspected that Necas may have exaggerated the extent of his injury, which led to Meier’s ejection, upsetting the Devils.

“I think there was an injury there that might have been blown out of proportion there by the player and our team didn’t like it, so maybe a little extra physical and they pushed back … it happens.”

With this game now behind them, the Devils next face the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night at Honda Center..