Maple Leafs robbed of a goal following this highly controversial no goal call
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in Winnipeg tonight to take on the Jets in a grudge match from Wednesday's meeting, which resulted in a 1-0 OT win for the Leafs in front of the hometown crowd in Toronto. Unfortunately, if the Leafs happen to lose a tight one tonight, it will be for a very controversial reason.
After Dylan Samberg opened the scoring for the Winnipeg Jets just 4:13 into the game, Ryan Reaves tied things up for the Maple Leafs with 49 seconds remaining in the first period. Yes, Ryan Reaves, in case you thought you mis-read that.
On the ensuing shift, it looked like the Maple Leafs had taken the lead but upon further review, the officials ruled there was goaltender interference.
The initial point shot was stopped by Connor Hellebuyck but as Tyler Bertuzzi was fighting for the rebound, William Nylander was pushed into the goaltender by Jets' defenseman Dylan DeMelo. Bertuzzi eventually found the puck and buried what was supposed to be his 7th of the season and first since December 27th. Unfortunately, the official waived it off immediately for what he called "accidental goalie interference".
The Maple Leafs challenged the questionable call because, upon further review, it looked blatant enough that DeMelo pushed Nylander into his own goaltender, which impeded his ability to play the puck.
Unfortunately the war room did not see it that way and not only did the Leafs not get the goal but they earned a 2 minute minor for delay of game after losing the challenge.
During the intermission, both former NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey and former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa questioned the call, believing the Leafs were robbed of the go-ahead goal. I have to say, I wholeheartedly agree.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 27 | 514 ANSWERS Maple Leafs robbed of a goal following this highly controversial no goal call Do you think this call should have been reversed and the Leafs awarded a goal? | ||
| Yes, that's a good goal | 499 | 97.1 % |
| No, it was textbook goalie inferference | 15 | 2.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
