Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 1 Recap: A Heartbreaker

The Third Period

Going into the third period, the Habs came out strong again. But at 2:34 of that period, Tyler Johnson – wunderkind for the Lightning – tipped the puck into the net and the Lightning were on the board.

It would be another 12 minutes before Max Pacioretty shot the puck at the net; it popped out of goalie Ben Bishop‘s glove, flew up, and dropped behind him. It looked like he had lost sight of the puck which slid over the goal line before he could locate it.

That re-energized the Bell Centre, and the Habs as well; they registered 9 shots to the Lightning’s 6, but no further goals were scored in the third, and the game went into overtime.

May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The Controversy Of The No-Goal

At almost 3 minutes into the first overtime, Nikita Kucherov shot the puck right into Carey Price, who saved the shot with his pad; Kucherov then pushed Price’s pad, along with the puck, over the goal line, but the referees whistled it off and signaled a “no goal”.

Of course, it went to a review, but even watching the replay, it was blatant goalie interference. Whistle or not, the puck went in with the goalie, giving Price absolutely no way to defend his net. When a goalie is pushed, everything else is negated, even if the puck crosses the goal line.

After the review, which upheld the call on the ice, there was an explosion on Twitter, from fans of teams other than the Canadiens. Accusations of “luck”, of “referee bias” and the like.

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette tweeted the ruling made by the NHL Situation Room, citing the rule that was invoked in the call:

With goalie interference, rulings are hard and fast, and in the interest of protecting goaltenders, the NHL is seemingly (and responsibly) enforcing these rules.

After that, of course it became a Controversy. Even some analysts on Twitter, from various media outlets, had questioned the call. In watching the replay, it was extremely clear: Carey Price was  unable to freeze or block the puck due to his being pushed into his net. That negates anything that happens after the interference, and it was the right call.

See for yourself:

It should be noted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper – after the game – admitted that the call was the right one.

Was he being charitable because his team won? Perhaps. At the time, he was unhappy about the call. But a good coach, watching a replay and seeing the evidence, will admit to a call being the right one even if it doesn’t benefit his team. And as he only said this after the game went in his favor, there was no need to criticize the referees. Especially in light of what was revealed after the game was over.

(Continued next page)