Controversial Call From the NHL Video Review Team Screws the Maple Leafs

The 6-5-1 Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need a win tonight, having lost yet again to Craig Berube's former St. Louis Blues last night, marking their second defeat against them this season. Currently, the Leafs are down 1-0 to the Minnesota Wild, and the opening goal scored is highly questionable, as it was clearly kicked in.

As noted by TicTacTOmar on X:

You can clearly see Ryan Hartman winding up his foot in a kicking motion while in the crease of goalie Anthony Stolarz. Unfortunately the goal stood.

From a separate angle, Hartman can be seen kicking John Tavares' stick, which propels the puck into the net, but it's very clear that it's Tavares' stick puts the puck in, rather than the foot of Hartman.

The argument here from the Leafs' side of things was that Hartman's kicking motion is what forced Tavares to put the puck into the net. There's a lot of gray area here with this call, but if the root of it all was a kicking motion, the goal should have been disallowed, as Hartman did not kick the puck onto his own stick before it went in, and the puck does not go in without Hartman kicking Tavares' stick.

Controversy seems to be a recurring theme for the Maple Leafs this season. In a press conference yesterday, Craig Berube pointed out that the hit against Mitch Marner at the end of the Blues game should have been a penalty. Berube also noted that he was impressed with captain Auston Matthews coming in to defend his teammate.

Fortunately for the Maple Leafs, it's still early and they were able to tie the game before the end of the period.