Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy’s penalty, right call, bad guidelines?

Connor Murphy #5, Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

The third game in a row between the Lightning and the Blackhawks ended up a bit chippy. Chicago lost the game after a disastrous second period which saw an awful hit that resulted in a match penalty. After that, the game turned entirely in Tampa Bay’s favor, but that wasn’t the most important issue. The hit and the subsequent match penalty show that the NHL needs to take a different approach to make the game safer.

I have watched that hit that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy put on Erik Cernak many times, and I believe that the call on the ice was the right one. The officials need to enforce the rules to…