Not only did the Florida Panthers lose 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, they lost a valuable player in center Aleksander Barkov. Red Wings' forward Justin Abdelkader delivered what Florida believes is an illegal hit to the head of Barkov, which forced him to leave the game with an upper body injury. The hit was not penalized. To add insult to injury, Florida's Alex Petrovic was penalized for cross-checking Abdelkader.
Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad was not happy with the non-call.
"I don't know if it was an elbow or a shoulder, but he got him in the head and it's a head shot,'' he stated, according to the Miami Herald. "It was a cheap hit, I don't know how the ref didn't call it."
"It was frustrating, the whole bench felt that way. We're not happy with it. It turned the game around. Barkov has tough shoes to fill," Bjugstad continued. "It looked pretty serious. We'll see how the league handles it and I think they will. I just don't know how it wasn't handled on the ice."
Panthers' winger Jaromir Jagr was also incensed with how the referee handled the situation, tweeting that "if the NHL wants head shots out of the game, refs need to call head shots on the ice."
Jaromir Jagr: if NHL wants head shots out of the game, refs need to call head shots on the ice. Very ticked #FlaPanthers room.
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) February 9, 2016
Coach Gerard Gallant was not pleased, but was more accepting of the decision. "You hate to lose your top player, but that's part of the game,'' he said. "We're disappointed to lose him. I thought it was a cheap shot but the referees didn't see it that way and explained to me it was a clean check. It's tough. It happens quick and we get to see the replay. I think it'll be looked at. [Abdelkader] left his feet a little and got him in the jaw," according to the Herald.
Barkov might have been taken out of the game because of a possible concussion. He will miss Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Abdelkader defended himself, claiming his feet were still on the ice during the hit.
#RedWings Abdelkader: I thought my feet were down and I thought I followed through through his body. — Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 9, 2016
#RedWings Abdelkader: His head was a little low I guess but at the same time I thought I finished through his body.
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 9, 2016
The Abdelkader hit, along with the Panthers loss overshadowed Jagr's milestone night. Stepping foot on the ice, the 43-year-old played his 1,600th career NHL game.
Wow. Congrats, @68Jagr! pic.twitter.com/DsBOitrvdt — NHL (@NHL) February 9, 2016
He is currently tenth all time in games played, and is now only 12 games behind Ray Bourque for ninth place. The all-time record is held by Gordie Howe with 1,767 games played.
