The Rangers got bad news on Derek Stepan. It was revealed that he suffered a broken jaw as a result from Brandon Prust’s late hit during the first period in Game 3 last night. Prust delivered the dangerous hit from the blindside making contact with Stepan’s chest and jaw. Stepan immediately went to the locker room for x-rays which came back negative. He missed over six minutes before returning.

Coach Alain Vigneault revealed the injury at a press conference earlier today. There’s no timetable for Stepan’s return. He’s undergoing surgery.

Prust is scheduled to have a telephone hearing this afternoon. The NHL will determine whether he’ll be disciplined for a hit that went unpenalized. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll get suspended. But for how long? What does it even matter? He did his job.

Obviously, my disappointment with the league officiating is at an all-time high. How five officials missed that is mystifying. Ironically, they called Stepan for hooking later because clearly that’s more blatant than Prust successfully injuring his former teammate. This is what you get from a hypocritical league that doesn’t get it. They program refs to call every hold and hook no matter how soft.

We already know Daniel Carcillo is likely to receive 10 games for making contact with an official. Yet there’s evidence that the same ref touched him escalating the situation. How about suspending the five blind mice?

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