from Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun,
Golden Knights centre Erik Haula found a loose puck behind Connor Hellebuyck and jammed it home, but as he was doing so forward James Neal broke his stick across the mask of the Jets goalie.
Following a lengthy discussion, the officials ruled that the call on the ice was a goal, conceivably believing the puck was already loose behind Hellebuyck before the slash took place.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice used his coach’s challenge, arguing the play was an example of goalie interference.
But after review, the play on the ice stood and the goal counted – leaving many Jets scratching their heads.
“There’s been an outcry with the league to get this right,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “Well, now it’s bad. It was bad before but come on, he (expletive) breaks a stick over his head. That’s not a goal. I don’t care where the puck is. Right before we went over there, I was told that if Connor’s in the crease and he makes contact with him with his stick, it’s no goal. So, I came back to the bench pretty confident that it was going to be no goal. If anything, we should have been on a five-minute power play or something. That was tough.”
Hellebuyck was incensed when asked for his interpretation of the call.
Below, watch the goal in question plus some fantastic chances for the Jets in OT and the winning goal bu the Golden Knights.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.