Warren Foegele injured TJ Oshie with a big push in the back and was sentenced to a minor penalty of two minutes

With only five minutes left in the third period, Warren Foegele of Carolina pushed TJ Oshie over the numbers and sent the Washington player to the board as he chased the puck. Oshie stayed on the ice for a long time in pain, but was able to go on her own. The retransmission showed that Oshie's injury was caused by an awkward fall after being jostled. She also showed that the official closest to the incident did not raise her arm until he saw Oshie on the ice.

Given that the thrust looked really intentional and that she was the direct cause of an injury, it seemed good that the Carolina player would be hit with a major penalty of five minutes. Instead, officials collectively decided that there was not enough intent to harm Oshie in the blow to Foegele and they only inflicted a minor penalty of two minutes for boarding. With only two minutes to kill and one of Washington's best offensive threats, the Hurricanes were able to maintain their 2-1 lead to win the fourth home game.

Unsurprisingly, Caps coach Todd Reirden was not happy with the result and officials' call for Foegele's hit. After the match, he announced that Oshie "will not play any time soon."

It is to be feared that the NHL will probably respond to this kind of movement without a fist by a tap on the fingers and that one of the best players in this series is missing in the near future. But hey, at least the referees have not let a whistle too zeal interfere in the course of the game. It would have been a real travesty.