Devils’ Star Gets A Reprieve League Says Slash By Maclean Doesn’t Show Up On Videotapes

Finally a video review went in favor of the New Jersey Devils, and this time the New York Rangers were left to shake their heads in disbelief.

This NHL review didn’t get the Devils a goal, but at least it kept forward John MacLean in the lineup for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals today in which they face elimination.

The Devils’ leading scorer in the playoffs, MacLean got a reprieve for the game when the league didn’t suspend him for a slash late in Game 4 on Thursday that broke the left arm of Rangers’ forward Niklas Sundstrom.

No penalty was called on the play, and the league’s failure to suspend MacLean left Rangers coach Colin Campbell and team president Neil Smith incredulous.

Sundstrom had six screws and a plate inserted in his arm during a 90-minute surgery on Saturday.

“When a decision like this is rendered or not rendered, one wonders why,” Campbell said, doing his best to control his anger after learning of the ruling, an hour after the Rangers finished practice.

While saying it was unfortunate that Sundstrom was hurt, Brian Burke, the league’s senior vice president, said there was not enough evidence to suspend MacLean.

“The incident was not captured adequately on any of the television or in-house videos and was not seen by any of the on-ice officials,” Burke said in a statement released Saturday. “The league has a longstanding policy that it cannot and will not impose supplementary discipline on a player when there is not an adequate video of the incident in question or it was not seen by any of the on-ice officials.”

The Rangers on Saturday showed reporters a grainy video of the incident that was shot by a camera in the goal. It breaks away at the point where MacLean hit Sundstrom.

The incident is the second Burke has reviewed in the series, which the Rangers now lead 3-1 after winning the last three games. He also decided not to suspend New York center Mark Messier for a crosscheck to the face of Doug Gilmour in Game 2, another play where no penalty was called.

The series has also had the Devils losing goals in the last three games for having a man in the crease.