The late stages of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final had some drama, with Golden Knights coach John Tortorella smack dab in the middle.
In a 2-2 game with five minutes left, Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen made a diving save across the crease to stop a would-be goal from Vegas‘ Ivan Barbashev. A scuffle ensued in front of the net, with the puck eventually being poked out from under Andersen and into the Carolina net, seemingly giving the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead.
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The goal was immediately waved off, with goalie interference (of the non-penalty variety) as the call. Furthermore, officials indicated they had already blown the play dead when the puck was under Andersen, bolstering Carolina’s case as it being a non-goal.
Even with that two-tier cake, Tortorella wasn’t satisfied. He elected to challenge the goalie interference, arguing it should have been a Golden Knights goal. But the no-goal call stood after review, giving the Hurricanes a power play, where Carolina had struggled through nearly two games.
The fates, of course, are cruel. Just 25 seconds into the penalty, Jordan Staal tipped in a shot from Shayne Gostisbehere, giving the ‘Canes a 3-2 lead with 4:35 left in the game.
Vegas would come back with the tying goal to tie it up at three and send the game to overtime, but the questions around the decision to challenge lingered.
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Was John Tortorella correct to challenge no-goal?
While results-based reflection is an exercise in futility, Tortorella’s challenge late in Game 2 certainly seemed like a miscalculation.
To start, the initial call was goaltender interference against Vegas, a famously difficult call to litigate. Furthermore, the NHL gives the whistle a lot of leeway. The goalie interference was removed from the play, but there was still an intent to blow the whistle from the official after line of sight to the puck was lost, something that wouldn’t be overturned.
In short, the onus is on the official to stop play. And if the official says the play was dead, regardless of when the whistle is blown, then that is when the play is dead.
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ESPN’s panel postgame was confused by the call, but rules analyst Dave Jackson said the call was correct as it was called dead under Andersen’s pads.
The Hurricanes would go on to win 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Seth Jarvis, knotting the series at 1-1 heading out West to Las Vegas.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricanes score go-ahead goal off failed John Tortorella challenge
