Nikita Kucherov possible winning goal for Tampa disallowed (Video)
Oh controversial disallowed playoff overtime goals. You are so … great if you’re the team it goes for. And so awful for the team it goes against. Elation to disaster within the blink of a situation room phone call to the referee.
Nikita Kucherov thought he had a goal. A whole lot of us did in Tampa’s Game 1 contest at Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens. But he didn’t.
Look at the goal which was called off by referee Eric Furlatt:
At 2:56 of overtime in the Tampa Bay Lightning/Montreal Canadiens game, the referee informed the Situation Room that Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov pushed goaltender Carey Price's pad so he was unable to play his position properly. According to Rule 78.5 (ix) "Apparent goals shall be disallowed by the Referee when a goaltender has been pushed into the net together with the puck after making a save." This is not a reviewable play therefore the referee's call on the ice stands - no penalty and no goal Tampa Bay.
Per usual, Stephanie Vail has the excellent gif:
GIF no goal due to pushing the pad over the link, rules the ref pic.twitter.com/2nPD4C5NW5
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 2, 2015
Oh, one of those using the referee’s discretion on the ice. That drives fans nuts, just because nobody trusts the ref’s call. The only entity that gets it right is supposedly the situation room ... sort of. Kucherov did push Price's pad, so he couldn't set up properly to keep the puck out.
Sigh … if you’re a Tampa fan. That's tough.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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