It’s a fact NHL referees are calling fewer penalties this season. Entering Wednesday, teams had received nearly 12% fewer power-play opportunities than they cumulatively had as of March 26 last season.
That pattern was very noticeable in the Blackhawks‘ 5-3 loss Wednesday against the Devils — their eighth defeat in their last nine games.
Both teams got away with plenty of questionable obstruction plays — the Hawks perhaps even more than the Devils, especially during the first period, when it seemed like someone was lightly hooking or holding on every shift.
But the most impactful non-call of the night, however, hurt the Hawks immensely. Young Devils defenseman Simon Nemec received no punishment for beating up on Connor Bedard during the second period while Bedard was, granted, either holding or tangled up in Nemec’s stick on the ice.
Hawks forward Landon Slaggert then received a roughing penalty for coming over and shoving Nemec, and Dawson Mercer scored quickly on the ensuing power-play to extend the Devils’ lead to 4-2.
Nemec and Bedard get tangled up. Landon Slaggert then comes in to exchange shoves with Nemec and gets a penalty pic.twitter.com/DGwFf8SPzp
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 27, 2025
On the national TNT broadcast, Hawks legend Eddie Olczyk said that if he was behind the Hawks’ bench, he would be “absolutely livid” and “getting somebody’s attention.”
Hawks interim coach Sorensen, however, didn’t have much reaction — as is typical for him during games, although not so much in practices.
“I just don’t know what to gain out of it,” Sorensen said. “[The referees have] made their call; they’re probably not going to change it. You can try to talk to them in TV timeouts to get an explanation that way instead. Coming across yelling is probably not going to help the situation, right? [I] try to build a relationship and talk to them. I think that will go a longer way down the road.”
The momentum swing was particularly dramatic because the Hawks thought — a few minutes earlier — they had tied the game 3-3 on a Ryan Donato deflection, but the tip was determined to have occurred barely above the crossbar. Sorensen said he was surprised the goal call was overturned.
Frank Nazar cut the deficit to one with 2:50 left, and the Hawks got away with a missed too-many-men infraction when pulling goalie Spencer Knight for the extra attacker after that. It didn’t end up mattering, though, as the Devils held on and added an empty-netter.