It’s frustrating when it feels like the officiating calls aren’t going your way. And all the more even for the Chicago Blackhawks this season to see their young star player, Connor Bedard, taking some serious hits that almost feel like hazing out there on the ice! Well, does it look like he’s getting targeted because of his talent and rookie status? Maybe, yes. Or is he the smallest of the bunch to get picked on? Maybe so. But what is further disconcerting is the lack of officiating that is not biased and how the team isn’t backing up the youngster in the game of roughhousing.

The Blackhawks couldn’t secure a second straight win after the one against the Philadelphia Flyers. They lost big time to the New Jersey Devils by 3-5 on Wednesday night at the United Center. From controversial calls to missed opportunities to a late push that just fell short on time, the game had a plethora of misgivings. But the real intensity sparked when a brawl occurred amidst the rising tempers over a questionable penalty.

It was the Blackhawk’s Landon Slaggert, who came to Bedard’s rescue after the Devil’s defensemen Simon Nemec pushed him onto the ice. “Landon Slaggert comes to the defense of Connor Bedard after Simon Nemec held him down, but Slaggert is whistled for roughing. #Blackhawks,” said Charlie Roumeliotis, studio host for the Blackhawks, in his post on X. So Bedard gets targeted while Slaggert gets penalised? Well, though it seems hard to watch, this is how the officiating played this one out!

The Blackhawks definitely faced the adversity. After struggling for footing from the get-go, the Blackhawks gave away 2 goals to the Devils in the first period, and then the Devils dominated with a power-play goal to make it 4-2. And with that, the second period ended for Chicago. They simply couldn’t bounce back, and the Devils sealed a 5-3 victory with an empty-net goal!

And the fans? They weren’t furious because the Blackhawks lost. They were livid because of the mistreatment meted out to Bedard on the ice. That sparked the real outrage. Despite leading in the team with points, he often becomes the target of harsh physical play. Even the referees failed to spot this one, even though it was crystal clear that Nemec pushed him. Hence, fans called out the league’s incapability to protect its top talent!

The pattern of targeting Connor Bedard has gone too far!

Previously, Bedard received back to back 10-minute penalty for misconduct in two consecutive games, one in the game against the San Jose Sharks and the other one with the Vancouver Canucks. He was even criticised by Mark Messier, who said he was too soft on ice and stated that the excuses as a young player were over when the Blackhawks lost in a game against the Florida Panthers. This drove fans to directly take a dig at the referees as they expressed, “Absolute Disrespect. NHL referees really be blind.”

Others too pointed out several inconsistencies and questionable officiating, with one of them saying, “@NHL refs showing a lot of crappy calls against Bedard and the Hawks.” Another fan commented, “Sticking up for our star player means NOTHING anymore.” Well someone had to call out the other players of the team who were nowhere to be seen when Bedard was in distress hence highlighting how the efforts to defend Bedard were futile, with penalties given to the wrong players!

And the anger continued with one fan saying, “Refs are absolutely horrible.” And this started a streak with many directly questioning the NHL to hold its referees to better standards of officiating! “@NHL fix this shit now clear bias for months now!!! these refs gotta f—— go,” one of them urged the league while another one said, “Absolute s— officiating all year! @nhl.” These reactions perfectly captured how fans were totally appalled over the league’s inability to address ongoing issues, especially with Bedard and the Hawks, who have been at the penalty receiving end repeatedly.