Jets fans not amused as absurd turn of events leads to a controversial Leafs powerplay goal
Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs rode the momentum that they've been building into Winnipeg, securing the win and will head into their bye week on a 3-game winning streak. For a team who has struggled of late, that must feel good.
The game itself was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams having plenty of chances. The shots ended up being 30-26 in favour of the Leafs, who really exploded on special teams on Saturday, scoring twice on three powerplay attempts and shutting the door on four penalty kills. Not only did the Leafs out-shoot and out-hit the Jets, but they also dominated in the faceoff dot, winning 62.2% of the draws in enemy territory.
While the game was an entertaining one, there were a few moments in this one that left the fans scratching their heads. Obviously, the overturned goal in the first period was one of those moments, with the call on the ice (no goal) standing, regardless of the fact that William Nylander was shoved into Connor Hellebuyck by a Jets defenseman. However, there was another call in the game that may have been even more peculiar.
At the 15:09 mark of the 3rd period, Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg took a swing at the stick of John Tavares away from the play, nearly snapping the stick in half. The official didn't originally make the call, so Tavares simply drew his attention and then attempted to flex his stick to show the damage. When the stick fell to the ice in two pieces, it was then that the official raised his arm to call the penalty, almost a full 5-6 seconds later.
I've personally never seen anything like this. Obviously, officials have refused to make a call in that past if they didn't see the infraction occur. This one seems to be a rare occurrence where Tavares was able to appeal to the reason and the better judgement of an official after the fact, which doesn't normally work.
A very strange penalty, and the ensuing powerplay led to Auston Matthews' record-setting 600th point in just 526 games, so hey - I'm sure the Leafs aren't complaining, though the Jets might take issue with the call.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 28 | 483 ANSWERS Jets fans not amused as absurd turn of events leads to a controversial Leafs powerplay goal Should the official have called a penalty against the Jets even though he missed the infraction? | ||
| Yes | 350 | 72.5 % |
| No | 133 | 27.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
