A KHL playoff goal was disallowed due to ‘obstruction of the goaltender’s vision’.

The goal, off the stick of SKA St. Petersburg’s Evgeny Ketov, would have tied the game at 2-2.

Referees Sergei Belyayev and Evgeny Romasko, formerly of the NHL, went to the videotape…  After an extended review, the goal was waved off.

 


SKA’s Anton Belov was battling for position at the top of the crease, but avoided contact with CSKA goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

It wasn’t contact the officials were worrying about.  It was the goaltender’s field of view.

 

 

From the KHL Rulebook:

471 – DISALLOWING A GOAL
a) No goal shall be allowed: […]  If a goal is scored when an attacking player has positioned himself in the goal crease screening the goalkeeper’s view, and in so doing has interfered with his ability to defend his goal net;

While Belov moved to position himself in front of the goaltender, his actions certainly weren’t as blatant or intentional as Sean Avery’s infamous ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ incident against Martin Brodeur in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Avery’s antics led to a minor modification to the NHL’s rule for unsportsmanlike conduct to include intentionally distracting the goaltender.

“An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play,” said a statement from NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

The KHL had no such issue.  They’ve already got that rule on the books.

In Game 1 of the playoff series between CSKA and SKA St. Petersburg, they decided to enforce it.

SKA lost 2-1.