Kraken fume, then NHL suspends Avalanche’s Cale Makar 1 game for his hit on Jared McCann

Not that they needed one, but the Kraken have found an enemy to motivate them through their deciding games of a now-angry series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Colorado star defenseman Cale Makar was a villain during Game 4 of the playoff series between the Kraken and Avalanche to everyone inside Climate Pledge Arena on Monday night.

Everyone, that is, except the game’s referees.

They ruled Makar’s late shoulder hit of Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann hard into the boards and glass in the first period a legal hit. Officials after video review stated the puck was still in play.

That’s why McCann got knocked out of the rest of Game 4 and will miss Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 of the tied series in Denver, while Makar only got a 2-minute minor penalty for “interference.”

To the Kraken, that’s like Al Capone getting docked for “tax evasion.”

They didn’t say it, but the Kraken are justified wondering if the fact Makar is the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman is granting him leeway from league punishment.

That punishment came Tuesday.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday morning Makar is suspended one game for the hit on McCann.

In making its decision, the league said “it is important to note McCann is no way eligible to be checked on this play,” which happened in the first period of Seattle’s 3-2 overtime win over Colorado Monday night.

McCann missed the rest of that game. Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said after it McCann will also miss Game 5 Wednesday in Denver. The best-of-seven series is tied at two wins apiece.

“Late hit. Really late. No puck in play,” Hakstol said late Monday night. “Our 40-goal scorer not being available for the rest of the game. Not going to be available going forward here.

“So ...”

“It was obviously late,” Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz said after he assisted on Jordan Eberle’s winning goal 3 minutes into overtime Monday night.

“I feel like the puck might have been out of play for two, three seconds before it happened.”

Eight minutes into the game, with the Kraken leading 1-0 on Will Borgen’s early goal, McCann broke in free with the puck on Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Georgiev made perhaps his best save of the series denying McCann. McCann then skated on past the goal into the left corner, as the puck went over the glass out of play.

That’s when Makar planted his shoulder into McCann with a wicked hit that knocked McCann off his skates and hard into the boards, with the puck nowhere near. Makar extended his arms to further push the airborne McCann into the glass.

The crowd at packed, frenzied Climate Pledge Arena howled and booed. McCann stayed down for well over a minute, assisted on the ice by an athletic trainer. The boos intensified after the referee initially announced a major, 5-minute penalty on Makar. Then the referee quickly announced it was, in fact, a 2-minute minor for “interference,” a brutal euphemism for Makar’s unnecessary hit.

The fans became unhinged. They booed Makar each time he touched the puck over the final 2-1/2 periods of regulation and in all of overtime.

The trainer helped McCann get to the Kraken bench then the locker room. He didn’t play again. Seattle’s top scorer played only 3 minutes and 38 seconds of Game 4.

Hakstol said McCann will miss Game 5 “for sure. My assumption is it will be longer than that.”

“What I saw live, and what I watched after the period on video, was a late hit where the puck is out of play,” Hakstol said late Monday night following Seattle’s 3-2 overtime win that evened the series at two wins apiece.

“’Canner” shoots that puck. It goes immediately out of play, straight up into the netting,” Hakstol said. “I believe the puck is being caught by a fan while ‘Canner’ is being run into the end wall.”

Makar is not known around the league as a particularly dirty player. The 24-year-old has not been suspended in a NHL career that’s spanned four years and 238 regular-season games.

He told reporters after Monday’s game, “I never want to injure guys,” per the Denver Post.

Makar missed two games in February and was in the league’s concussion protocol after he got hit in the head by Pittsburgh’s Jeff Carter.

The Kraken think Makar should miss more games. Perhaps as many or more than McCann is going to miss while out of Seattle’s most important games in franchise history this week. Lower-liner Ryan Donato played more, 16-plus minutes Monday. Seattle mixed and matched new line combinations without McCann. That juggling will continue Wednesday, and it appears, Friday in Game 6 back in Seattle.

“As far as a view from the bench...we saw the puck go out of play. And then we saw Jared get hit,” Eberle said.

“That’s all I’m going to say about it.”

The NHL said a little more.

In announcing its suspension of Makar the league noted the fact he hadn’t been fined or suspended in his career. That may explain why he got only one game, and not more.

“Makar finishes this check well outside the allowable window for finishing a check,” the league said in its ruling Tuesday. “In addition, it is clear Makar understands McCann is not in possession of the puck when he decides to deliever this hit.

“While we have heard Makar’s assertion that he assumed the puck would bounce into the corner and play would continue, the onus is on Makar to ensure this occurs before initiating contact.”