Backes Gets Away With Head Shot on Kreider

You can’t expect the referees to see everything that happens in a hockey game.

But when the player in question:

Just fired a shot on goal
Is skating behind the net, towards the official
Is fouled less than 30′ away from the official
Went down hard enough to justify blowing the whistle for a possible injury

Well, maybe referee Mike Hasenfratz should’ve seen that one. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDiryEwW8V8

Thankfully, Kreider wasn’t hurt on the play.

While it was a head shot, don’t expect anything from the Department of Player Safety. With Kreider already on the way down, that likely contributed to the location of the hit. Add to that the fact that nothing was called on the play, and I think Backes gets away with that one.

David Backes appears to catch Kreider in the head as he skates past net after hitting post with a wrister. Kreider shaken up but on his feet

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) January 24, 2014

#NYR Replay showed Backes' connecting with Kreider's head with butt end of his stick. Kreider shaken up but appears to be okay

— Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN) January 24, 2014

On replay, Backes got butt of stick into Kreider. Officials obv missed it

— Steve Zipay (@stevezipay) January 24, 2014

Backes was physical all night, registering eight hits. His favorite target was Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who was on the receiving end of three.

Only one Ranger hit David Backes all night: 5’7″, 179-pound, Mats Zuccarello. He was not intimidated – or impressed – by Backes: