Islanders get on rookie ref for 'diving' penalty
Islanders right wing Leo Komarov fights with Vancouver Canucks center Adam Gaudette in the second period as referee Brandon Schrader takes in action on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Islanders had just cut their deficit to one and thought they were going back on the power play when Adam Gaudette’s stick went into Mathew Barzal’s skates at 17:58 of the second period Saturday.
Instead, referee Brandon Schrader, 25, also called a diving penalty on Barzal, leaving the teams skating four-on-four.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz was visibly upset on the bench, and both he and captain Anders Lee spoke to the rookie ref coming off the ice for the second intermission.
“I just thought it was a common-sense call,” Trotz said after his team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Canucks at Barclays Center (while, in general, praising the work of the league’s on-ice officials). “The stick was right under his skate and he has the puck. There’s no reason to embellish.”
Trotz said Schrader seemed “rattled” by the sequence.
“He called us the Rangers and we are not the Rangers,” he said. “We are the New York Islanders.”
A scrum ensued after the whistle blew and Lee said he refrained from retaliating because he thought the Islanders were getting a man advantage.
“We weren’t happy about it, let alone eating punches from the goaltender [Jacob Markstrom], who thought I touched him,” Lee said. “I wasn’t even close to him.”
Have a seat
Third-line right wing Tom Kuhnhackl was a minus-3 and logged only 6:47 as Trotz benched him in the third period.
“I just thought he could be better in a couple of areas,” Trotz said. “We don’t have any margin of error. We’re going to go with guys that are going. If you’re not going that night, sorry, we’ve got to move forward.”
Isles files
The Islanders went 0-for-2 with only two shots on the power play . . . It was the third time this season the Islanders did not have to kill off a penalty . . . The Islanders improved to 4-0-3 at Barclays Center . . . The attendance of 14,862 was the season’s second-largest home crowd.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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