You might send the NHL on a break, but the scintillating action can barely be halted. As the action resumes after the 4 Nations break, it looks like the teams are eager to start things from where they left off. However, for the Detroit Red Wings’ Michael Rasmussen, the return to the regular season could have been much smoother.

The Red Wings hosted the Anaheim Ducks at the Little Caesars Arena tonight in their second match after the international break. While the Detroit team won the battle 5-4 in OT, the 25-year-old forward didn’t have the best night on the ice.

Winged Wheel Pod’s Ryan Hana shared a brief clip on X on February 23 showing how the Ducks’ Trevor Zegras hit Rasmussen in the head with his shoulder late into the second period of Sunday’s game. Rasmussen went to the dressing room almost immediately.

Michael’s injury from the high hit spells further doom for the Red Wings, who were already one forward short for Sunday’s game. Just the day before, Andrew Coop also suffered an undisclosed injury and has been ruled out for Detroit’s next match against Minnesota on Tuesday. Team coach Todd McLellan said after Rasmussen’s ordeal, “I think when a player gets a blow to the head and doesn’t return, it’s never a good sign. But we’ll see how he is [Monday]. He seems to be in good spirits, at least when I wandered by him. He’s not happy about it, but he’s in pretty good spirits.”

Naturally, fans were not happy. For some, it was baffling how Zegras managed to stay in the game despite him crashing into the Detroit center. Understandably, the gaze turned to the match officials. “How this was not an immediate ejection for Zegras is beyond me. Horrible refs,” one fan slammed on X. Others soon jumped on social media to express their displeasure as well.

Detroit Red Wings loyalists clamor about the refs turning a blind eye

Rasmussen left the rink with 2:35 to go in the second period. Despite how the hit ended the match for Rasmussen, there was no penalty called by the officials. That left fans bewildered by the thought of what was going on inside the officials’ heads at the match. “No call on the hit, but offsetting roughing penalties? The refs are really losing control of this game,” one fan couldn’t help but claim. “Replay shows it all, fire the refs,” a second fan went a step further calling for extreme measures.

The Red Wings HC, however, thinks it was an honest mistake by the refs. “I don’t think anybody was really aware of what was going on, including, obviously, the four officials. If they didn’t see what happened, they just can’t make it up,” McLellan said after the incident. But Detroit fans weren’t on board with giving the officials a pass.

“How do the refs always see the ticky tac hooking and holding plays but miss a blatant hit to the players head,” another fan was genuinely curious. Considering how a similar controversy unfolded earlier this month during a match between Dallas and Columbus, it’s evident that fans are getting tired of such unabashed disregard for the rules.

Another fan was seen fuming, “This play is the exact reason people complain about the officiating in the NHL. I can understand maybe they miss it in real time but how is no call made after the replay is looked at?” Talk about getting back to the NHL season in style, huh? What is your take on the matter? Tell us how you suppose the collision was addressed by the match refs in a comment!