Earlier today, I tweeted Kerry Fraser about the Alex Burrows hit that injured Ryan McDonaugh. The former respected NHL referee had some interesting insight on the controversial play in the final minute of the Rangers’ 3-1 win over the Canucks.

This supports my previous post that Burrows shouldn’t have been assessed an elbowing major and game misconduct. As I noted, the hit was from the side and it was a glancing blow that caught a prone McDonaugh in an awkward position.

Injury reaction is something we see a lot. Of course, the officials can only make the call once based on full speed. Something Fraser references. When you have an attacking player coming in that fast, injuries are bound to occur. Hockey is a super fast game which makes the refs’ job that much tougher. It explains why they don’t always get everything right.

You do wonder if when it involves a player like Burrows with a bad reputation if it does impact the refs’ judgment. Maybe that’s a better question for Fraser. The only part of the hit that was suspect was that Burrows raised his hands catching McDonaugh’s jaw and injuring his left shoulder.

The hits Fraser wants eliminated are when players leave their feet charging into opponents. He made note of such an incident with McDonaugh again the victim. It occurred when Max Pacioretty flew into Mac Truck last year boarding him. Somehow, it was only a two-minute minor by comparison.

This is definitely something I agree with. Howie was nice enough to link up the image of an airborne Pacioretty catching McDonaugh from behind right into the glass. The kind of dangerous hit that should be out of the game completely.