Victor Eklund threw the hit. Mason Marchment threw the punches. Only one of them went to the penalty box.

With the game tied 2-2 midway through the third period on Monday night in San Jose, the New York Islanders winger drove San Jose Sharks forward Kiefer Sherwood into the boards. Both players went down, Eklund landing on top of Sherwood, and the referees’ arm went up: a five-minute major for boarding.

 

 

Marchment responded immediately, dropping the gloves and throwing ungloved punches while Eklund was tied up in the scrum. A major penalty was called on the ice with Marchment picking up four minutes for roughing.  (On Tuesday, Marchment was fined $5000 for roughing on the play.)

Referees Chris Rooney and Riley Brace went to the monitor at the timekeeper’s bench and reviewed the hit – ultimately deciding to wipe out the boarding major entirely. No minor. No penalty of any kind to Eklund.

The only punishment from the whole sequence was Marchment’s double-minor, handing the Islanders a four-minute power play in a tie game.

The Review Belongs to the Refs, Not Toronto

Every non-fighting major penalty in the NHL is automatically reviewed under Rule 20.6, which has been in place since the 2019-20 season. Major penalty reviews are not handled by the Situation Room in Toronto, which rules on coach’s challenges and goal reviews. Penalty reviews are ruled on by the on-ice officials who made the initial call. 

They have three options:

  • Confirm the major penalty as called
  • Reduce it to a minor penalty for the same infraction
  • Rescind the penalty in its entirety

Only a major can be reviewed. On a borderline hit, the safe call is the major – signal five, get the look, and let the replay sort it out. The broadcast crews for both teams described Monday’s call exactly that way: the major was assessed procedurally so the referees could review Eklund’s hit.

What Made This One Different

Boarding, under Rule 41.1, is a check or push that causes an opponent to be thrown violently or dangerously into the boards, with the severity of the penalty based on the violence of the impact. The textbook boarding major is a defenseless player, numbers showing, driven from behind.

That isn’t what the replay showed in San Jose. Eklund finished a check into Sherwood’s body along the boards. Sherwood was engaged on the play, not turned away defenseless. While the hit was in the numbers, it wasn’t directly from behind – Sherwood was turned nearly sideways. The two players lost their balance and fell together. Sherwood got straight up and stayed in the game. Heavy hit, loud building, angry bench – and still a player thrown into the boards, but a hit deemed by the officials to not be as dangerous as it initially appeared. The major came off the board completely.

Compare the majors that survived review:

  • Anthony Mantha (Oct 12, Ottawa at New Jersey) pushed Nikolas Matinpalo from behind, right on the numbers, sending him head-first into the boards and out of the game with an upper-body injury. Referees Beau Halkidis and Francis Charron reviewed it and confirmed the major. (Mantha avoided a game misconduct only because Rule 41.5 requires an injury to the face or head.) 
  • Hayden Hodgson (Oct 29, Ottawa at Los Angeles) lined up Brandt Clarke from several strides away and drove his head into the glass. Major plus game misconduct confirmed, Clarke done for the night, and the Department of Player Safety added a two-game suspension.
  • Tom Wilson (Nov 7, Washington at Florida) had his boarding major and game misconduct against Sandis Vilmanis stand after review; Player Safety ultimately added no supplemental discipline, but the on-ice call never changed.

In each confirmed case, the replay showed the same ingredients: a vulnerable player, contact from behind, and a violent impact with the boards or glass. Eklund’s hit had the impact. It didn’t have the rest.

How Often Are Majors Reduced?

There’s no official tally by the league, and there’s a reason for that. A rescinded major leaves no trace in the record. Check Monday’s official game summary and Eklund’s name simply isn’t in the penalty summary; as far as the scoresheet is concerned, the major never existed. By our count: 

Rescinded entirely: 2

  • Ivan Miroshnichenko (Oct 14, Montreal at Washington): a major was called so the referees could review his open-ice hit on Juraj Slafkovsky — shoulder to chest, with Slafkovsky clipping Tom Wilson on his way down. Review wiped the major; Miroshnichenko kept only a roughing minor from the ensuing scrum, and Washington ended up with the power play. Nearly the same script as San Jose.
  • Victor Eklund (Nov 9).

Reduced on review: 2

  • Evan Rodrigues (Oct 10, Vancouver at New Jersey): referees Francois St-Laurent and Stephen Hiff called a spearing major, then downgraded it to a double minor for high-sticking after review found no stabbing motion. Player Safety later fined Rodrigues $5,000 for high-sticking — endorsing the reclassification. 
  • Jeremy Lauzon (Oct 27, Ottawa at Vegas): after a lengthy review of his knee-on-knee hit on Warren Foegele – who needed help off the ice and missed three to four weeks – Lauzon came away with only a two-minute minor for kneeing.

So through five weeks: two majors erased outright, two more knocked down, against a much longer list of majors that were confirmed exactly as called. Completely rescinding a major penalty call is the rarest outcome which is why it’s the toughest to swallow – especially when the only player penalized in the sequence was the one who came to his teammate’s defense.

For what it’s worth, the Islanders wasted the opportunity, taking two penalties of their own during the four-minute power play – Anthony Duclair for tripping, Ondrej Palat for hooking, both at 10:45 of the third – giving San Jose a 4-on-3 the other way. 

UPDATE: Marchment has been fined $5000 for roughing.

The San Jose Sharks defeated the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout, with referees Chris Rooney (#5) and Riley Brace (#49) and linespersons Joe Mahon (#89) and Scott Cherrey (#50) working the game.