Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat opened the scoring Friday on a goal the Coyotes thought shouldn’t count.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane delivered a cross-ice pass to DeBrincat, who fired it past Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood. The netminder immediately bolted toward the officials, gesturing as if he felt the goal would be waved off.
Arizona challenged the Chicago goal, citing that the officials missed a stoppage in play prior to the puck entering the net. Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny believed his team had touched the puck with a delayed penalty, which should have drawn a whistle.
They did. Arizona’s Kyle Capobianco had control and possession of the puck as he cleared a rebound away from the net.
The officials missed it.
The problem was that they’d missed it prior to the puck clearing – and re-entering – the attacking zone. From Rule 38:
Goals will only be reviewed for a potential “Missed Game Stoppage Event in the Offensive Zone” if the puck does not come out of the attacking zone again between the time of the “Missed Game Stoppage Event in the Offensive Zone” and the time the goal is scored.
Tourigny discussed the play after the game.
“They had a delayed penalty; we touched the puck,” said Tourigny. “We had full control of the puck. But the rule is if the puck goes out of the zone, then you cannot challenge it. It’s from the last time the puck gets in the zone. They attack on the rush and they score, but on the previous possession when they had a shot on net, [Kyle] Capobianco had full control of the puck, and that should have been a whistle there. Obviously there was no whistle. That’s why we challenged it.”
The Coyotes, trailing by one, managed to kill off the minor penalty for a failed Coach’s Challenge. Chicago went on to win the game 2-1.
Referees for the game were Steve Kozari and Brandon Blandina. Linesmen were Justin Johnson and David Brisebois.
