The Montreal Canadiens lost again last night and that is not surprising at all. They fall to 7-25-5 on the season and sit in last place in the NHL standings.
Another not so surprising moment in last night’s game was a goaltender interference ruling that did not go the way of the Montreal Canadiens. It just seems like every single time the officials review a goalie interference infraction the ruling goes against the Canadiens.
That is especially true if veteran Habs right winger Brendan Gallagher is involved. And the gritty forward is always involved when players are crashing and battling around the front of the net for a loose puck.
Gallagher, who wasn’t even playing last night as he deals with injuries, called out the league for its inconsistent application of the goalie interference rules in the middle of the game. He took to Twitter to offer his thoughts after the Canadiens challenged an Arizona Coyotes goal that stretched their lead to 4-2.
It appeared that Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau was bumped by Coyotes winger Antoine Roussel just before Nick Schmaltz fired a shot into the net. Habs head coach Dominique Ducharme thought there was enough contact to disallow the goal so he challenged the call on the ice but the ruling did not change after a review of the goal.
Shortly after, Gallagher expressed his thoughts via social media:
disallowed goal vs Carolina this year/vs Arizona goal that counted tonight
— Brendan Gallagher (@BGALLY17) January 17, 2022
Disallowed goal vs tampa this year/vs Chicago goal that counted the other night
…. What’s the difference? 🤔. Asking for a friend
The goals Gallagher is referencing were this one early in the season where he barely makes any contact at all with Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, but the goal is called back.
He compares it to Schmaltz goal tonight, which was allowed to count after a review. Antoine Roussel backs into Primeau just before Schmaltz scores. Primeau is deep in his crease the whole time so he should not have to deal with contact at all.
They do look pretty similar, don’t they?
What about this one from a couple weeks ago? Gallagher is cutting across the front of the net and is hit into the Lightning goaltender just before the puck crosses the line. It was called no goal on the ice, reviewed and the ruling stayed the same.
A couple nights ago, the Chicago Blackhawks overtime goal counted after a Hawks player was nailed into Habs goaltender Sam Montembeault by Mike Hoffman.
The amount of contact was drastically different in these two goals. In Gallagher’s case, the contact very minimal, and then Montembeault is drilled, while Phillip Kurashev pushes him well into the back of the net as the puck crosses the line.
Somehow, the Gallagher goal did not count, but the Hawks goal was deemed fine. We all just want a little consistency, but when anything that Gallagher is involved in gets called back, it is impossible for the league video review officials to look consistent at all.