Hockey fans stunned by one of most bizarre calls in NHL history during Canadiens-Flyers game

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Daniel Lucente
October 28, 2024 (12:27)

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The Montreal Canadiens-Philadelphia Flyers game was an odd one, and fans are left scratching their heads with one of the penalty calls involving the two teams.

Sunday night's game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers was supposed to be a very standard regular-season affair. Instead, it became a storyline of controversy as the Flyers won 4-3 against the Canadiens. The final score mattered very little in the wake of a befuddling penalty that had fans, analysts, and even players scratching their heads.

First period: The Flyers' Sean Couturier dishes out a high hit to the Canadiens' Kirby Dach, and Arber Xhekaj comes across immediately to take care of the Flyers' forward. The fight was on, until Flyers' defenseman Nick Seeler jumped Xhekaj from behind with a punch, turning what had the makings of a one-on-one into a messy two-on-one. Utterly clear misconduct by the Flyers. What happened next rendered many speechless: Xhekaj, not Seeler, was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, while Seeler came away scot-free of any penalties.

The call from the referees set the rink and social media abuzz. Fans were in disbelief, as were analysts, who would go on to say it was the unsavory reputation that precedes Xhekaj that may have played into the lopsided call. NHL analyst PJ Stock took to social media, frustrated, pointing at the inconsistency in the officiating. Arpon Basu from The Athletic even joked about how absurd it all was; Stu Cowan from Montreal Gazette simply chimed in on just how inexplicable the penalty was. This questionable call allowed the Flyers to get an undeserved power play, adding credence to theories of bias against Xhekaj. You can see the 2-on-1 fight below.

Arber Xhekaj gets attacked by two Flyers players

From the stands to online forums, criticism of the officiating was forthcoming from fans, many of whom wondered why Xhekaj, who had simply waited on Couturier to engage, had been singled out. If there was a consensus, it was that Seeler's interference at the very least should have resulted in offsetting penalties, if not a power play for the Canadiens. Instead, Montreal found themselves on the defensive due to what appeared to many as an officiating blunder.

With all that outrage and confusion, the Canadiens kept their cool. They took it to the end and ultimately won the game. The Flyers walked away with no points. The Canadiens have a respectable 4-4-1 record and nine points from their first nine games. The incident may have soured the game, but Montreal showed resiliency in the face of controversy.