Rangers vs Sharks Game Sees the Refs Overturn one of the Softest Goalie Interference Calls this Year
Both the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres were robbed of goals last night after brutal goaltender interference calls were made after replay review.
Goaltender interference has become a very serious problem for the NHL this season. The standard seems to vary game-to-game and referee-to-referee. There does not seem to be any standard guideline that the league uses.
This season though it does seem as though they have taken the approach of being far more generous to the netminders. Even very minimal contact seems to be enough for goaltender interference in many instances this season, such as those that occurred last night.
In the Rangers game, Adam Fox's goal was overturned after a challenge from San Jose due to the fact that Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck ran into the goalie's stick from behind, drawing it out of his hand and very slightly drawing Blackwood to the left.
Fan reaction was fairly unanimous. Just about everyone agreed that the goal should have counted. If anything, Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci is pushing Trocheck into the stick.
Luckily, the call would not affect the outcome of the game as Trocheck would proceed to pot a goal himself after the goal was overturned, restoring the two-goal lead. The Rangers would hang on to win 3-2.
In Buffalo, Dylan Cousins' goal was called back after a challenge from St. Louis as Zach Benson made contact with Jordan Binnington. However, Benson was pushed into the goalie by the Blues defender, which is supposed to negate the interference.
Again, the fans were not pleased with the call.
Luckily, the Sabres would rally to tie the game (again) late in the 3rd period, and Rasmus Dahlin would score the overtime winner, proving once again that puck don't lie.
We got lucky last night as neither of these calls affected their games. If anything, the Blues got a point they didn't deserve but that is largely inconsequential. Unfortunately though the next bad call could ruin the outcome of a game. Its only a matter of time before it happens again.
| POLL | ||
Do you think either of Dylan Cousins' or Adam Fox's goals should have counted last night? | ||
