Ottawa’s game-winning goal in Game 1 against the Rangers took a crazy path to the net after it left defenseman Erik Karlsson’s stick, deflecting off New York’s Derek Stepan before caroming in off the back of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault thought the whole series of events never should have happened.
“We felt that on their winning goal, it should have been icing,” Vigneault said.
Linesman Bryan Pancich was manning the blueline nearest to the Rangers’ zone.
At full speed, the puck appeared to deflect off Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau, negating the icing call. Vigneault appeared to indicate that Pageau never made contact with the puck.
“When we look at the angles we had, it should have been icing,” said Vigneault. “But at the end of the day, you have to play and you have to do more than we did tonight to win.”
