Perhaps it was simply lost in the translation, but the match penalty that apparently had been assessed against Tomas Kloucek for kneeing Jan Bulis during the second period of Saturday night’s game in Montreal was never a match penalty, at all.
“I know that it appeared on the game sheets that way, but as soon as we saw that in our offices in Toronto, we checked with Denis Morel, who was the supervisor at the game, and he told us that it wasn’t a match, but a five-minute major and a game misconduct,” NHL VP Colin Campbell told The Post last night. “We have the ability to plug into the stats with about a two-minute delay, so Murph [VP of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy] called over to Montreal right then.
“Nobody thought it was deserving of a match, not us, not the referees [Dan Marouelli and Tom Kowal]. For some reason it was posted that way.”
Had Kloucek picked up a match he would have been subject to an automatic supplementary discipline hearing, though it’s clear he would not have been suspended under any circumstance.
“Kloucek was there and got him with his shoulder first. He didn’t come across and intentionally put his knee out on the man,” Campbell said. “Doing that makes for the kind of play that gets a match and a suspension.”
While there is no match penalty against his record, Kloucek has now been assessed two game misconducts, the one on Saturday plus the one in Pittsburgh on Nov. 17 for boarding Toby Peterson, both falling under the “general category” as defined under Rule 28. A one-game suspension will automatically be attached to his next such infraction, with automatic suspensions increased by one game with each subsequent game misconduct; i.e., a two-game suspension for a fourth, a three-game suspension for a fifth.
Campbell last night also told The Post that the league had conducted reviews of two controversial calls in the Nov. 23 debacle at Washington, the second-period match assessed Igor Ulanov for punching Chris Simon in the head, and the instigator penalty awarded Vladimir Malakhov for his third-period fight with Joe Sacco.
“I looked at the Ulanov play and decided against a suspension,” Campbell said. “Beyond that, it makes no difference if the match is rescinded or not, in that match, penalties don’t accumulate the same way as major penalties.
“As far as the instigator, Andy Van Hellemond (Director of Officiating) looked at the play and felt that it was the correct call, so it stands.”
Accumulation of three instigator penalties calls for an automatic two-game suspension. Despite his boxing prowess, it is unlikely that Malakhov will have to worry about that.
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Rangers went into last night’s Garden match against Tampa Bay 10-2-0-2 in their previous 14, accumulating 22 of a possible 28 points … Mike Richter, who was 8-1-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .937 save percentage in November, was in goal … Rangers had allowed 20 or more shots in three of their last 15 periods … Over their last six games, Rangers had been shorthanded a total of 82:32 while on the power play 45:26.