Cale Makar rips officials after Jeff Carter hit

Nobody is going to feel sorry for the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche for having not been able to stay healthy all season, but at the same time, nobody likes seeing a star player suffer a potentially serious injury.

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who is the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner as well as the Norris Trophy winner, was forced from tonight's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena after he took what looked to be a blindside hit to the head from Penguins veteran forward Jeff Carter. 

There was no penalty on the play, while Makar entered concussion protocol; the good news is that he was deemed healthy enough to return to action. 

However, you can bet that he was certainly upset at the fact that Carter spent zero time in the penalty box for what he felt was an obvious infraction, and also stated that what he was told by the on-ice officials was just plain silly.

“Pretty blindside," Makar said of the incident in the dressing room afterward. "The ref said apparently we ran into each other, but I don’t know how that’s possible. He was coming down the ice.”

Said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar: 

“(Carter) skated right through his head. That’s what I saw.”

With the NHL trying to legislate headshots out of the game, will Carter be receiving a call from the NHL Department of Player Safety?