Ref cut Rangers' Carl Hagelin break in Game 3 for fighting Flyers' Jakub Voracek without strap tied


Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin (right) was lucky to escape with a roughing minor instead of a fighting major and game misconduct for having his jersey come off during a fight Tuesday with Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

(Ron Cortes/Philadelphia Inquirer)

PHILADELPHIA – Curious as to why Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek and Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin received roughing minors instead of fighting minors for their second-period fisticuffs Tuesday night?

Voracek expected more after landing a series of punches in a one-sided fight in which Hagelin eventually was down on the ice with his jersey coming off.

“I thought I was going to get five minutes,” he said Friday before Game 4 of the Flyers-Rangers' first-round playoff series.

There’s probably a simple explanation here: Referees Francis Charron and Paul Devorski likely opted to hand out minors because deeming this a fight would have forced them to assess a game misconduct to Hagelin for not having the fighting strap on his jersey properly attached to his pants.

That’s certainly the way former NHL referee Kerry Fraser saw it.

Now a hockey analyst for TSN in Canada, Fraser was in a Toronto studio watching the game and right away figured the refs opted to cut Hagelin a break because this skirmish was between players who normally don't fight.

"I've got to think that the referee gave every liberty for it not to be deemed it not to be a fight so that Hagelin could remain in the game," Fraser said Friday in a phone interview. "I can’t see any other reason for it."

Voracek, whose 23 goals this season was third on the Flyers, has been in one fight in his six NHL seasons, last season against Washington's Steve Oleksy.

Hagelin, who tied for fifth on the Rangers this season with 17 goals, has no fighting majors in 216 career NHL regular-season and postseason games.

"A player of that type, typically not a fighter, he's required to be tied down. All players are in the tie-down rule. The only time he's placed in jeopardy is if he gets in a fight and the sweater comes off his torso in the tie-down rule."

According to the official NHL Rule Book, under section 46.13, “A player who engages in a fight and whose jersey is not properly 'tied-down' (jersey properly fastened to pants), and who loses his jersey (completely off his torso) in that altercation, shall receive a game misconduct penalty.”

Voracek and Hagelin went at it near the boards at center ice after a faceoff 11:37 into the second period of the Rangers’ 4-1 win in Game 3 of a series the Flyers trail 2-games-to-1 heading into Friday’s game.

The two shoved each other for a few seconds, then Voracek began wailing away once Hagelin’s jersey started coming off from his back. When the altercation ended, Hagelin's jersey was completely off except for his arms.

"The views that I had from the studios, right off the bat I saw his sweater flapping in the breeze as they grappled with one another and I knew that he was not tied down." Fraser said. "Either you tie down property or you run the risk. When the head is out of the hole, it’s a game misconduct. The refs deeming it not a fight relieved them any kind of pressure to enforce the sweater tie-down rule."

Besides issuing roughing minors instead of fighting minors, refs have another potential loophole to keep an tie-down rule offenders from being ejected.

"The jersey came onto the top of (Hagelin's) head up to the torso, but not completely over his face," Fraser said. "The backend of the jersey, before it completely came off his head, was still stuck on the top of his head and the linesman helped him get it pulled down over his head as the altercation break out.

"The rule of thumb is that the neck hole of the sweater has to come off. It's a very liberal application. The fact that the head is considered to be part of the torso, and it really isn't. When it was sitting on top of his head, it was able to be pulled down quickly enough."

Voracek said on Friday that he was fine with the call.

“I have no idea how the rule works,” he said. “We got a power play out of it, so it worked out well in the end.”

The Flyers got a power play because Rangers winger Daniel Carcillo was assessed a roughing minor for actions while Voracek and Hagelin squared off.

The Flyers didn’t score on the power play and went on to lose … with Hagelin continuing to take shifts on the Rangers’ third line with Brad Richards and Carcillo.

The refs seemingly cut him a break.

“Yeah they did, for sure,” Fraser said. “I probably would have done the same thing.”

Fraser anticipates Bill McCreary, the officiating supervisor for the Rangers-Flyers series, will make his presence known before Game 5 to warn players.

“If he has any kind of foresight, he’ll inform both teams that sweaters need to be tied down by all players, and if they don’t they run the risk of being ejected," Frasier said. "Stuff happens. You’ve got to be prepared for it.”