Sheldon Keefe and the Toronto Maple Leafs furious after ridiculous goalie interference, Keefe could face second fine of the season
While it may sound like another delusional Leaf fan take, late in the first period in tonight's game against Carolina, forward Calle Jarnkrok was called for an absolutely inexplicable goalie interference penalty.
It's something that's happened to every other team in the NHL, but perhaps not quite as obvious as this. Jarnkrok enters the offensive zone and clearly stops up, waiting in the slot for an offensive chance, when a Hurricanes' defenceman enters the play and cross-checks Jarnkrok several times until he's on top of the goaltender.
Jarnkrok clearly had no intention of interfering with Kochetkov, and even checked to see that he was okay before realizing he was assessed a penalty on the play. The sole reason Jarnkrok was in the net was due to the actions of the Hurricanes defender, and yet he was penalized for it. Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was seen on the bench, openly criticizing the call.
It's another case of inconsistent and incompetent refereeing in the NHL, seemingly a growing trend in the last few years. There can be new improvements in technology and video replay, but in hockey specifically, some of the inconsistent, grey-area type rules will continue to cause the most disagreement until they're properly clarified and enforced.
