Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi saw his first period goal against the Winnipeg Jets disallowed due to goaltender interference.
Late in the first period, Toronto appeared to take a 2-1 lead. A point shot from Timothy Liljegren was stopped by Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, as the Leafs William Nylander positioned in front. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo shoved Nylander into the goaltender as the rebound deflected into the slot, bouncing off multiple players. Bertuzzi grabbed the loose puck and fired it into the net.
Referees Cody Beach and Pierre Lambert waved off the goal on the ice, citing ‘accidental’ goaltender interference.
From Rule 69.3:
If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.
There’s no question Nylander makes contact with Hellebuyck. There’s also no question DeMelo shoved him into the goaltender.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe opted to challenge the play based on the latter fact, as supported by Rule 69.1:
If an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.
The decision would come down based on how the contact between Nylander and Hellebuyck was initiated and how much of an effort the Leafs forward made to avoid that contact.
The NHL’s Situation Room felt that Nylander was responsible:
Video review supported the Referee’s call on the ice that Toronto’s William Nylander impaired Connor Hellebuyck’s ability to play his position in the crease.
The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.1 which states, in part, that “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.”
This is a tough one. Nylander clearly impacts Hellebuyck’s ability to play his position. He’s there, though, because DeMelo pushed him, then gave him a shove with the stick. The only angle the league could’ve considered on this play is that the initial contact happened due to Nylander’s path taking him into the crease on his own, and that he subsequently failed to make a legitimate attempt to leave.
From here, it looked like this was on DeMelo. Shoving a guy into your own goaltender should’ve negated the incidental contact and allowed this goal to stand.
Toronto was 4-for-4 on Coach’s Challenges this season, and 18-for-19 since Keefe took over behind the Leafs bench.
The Toronto Maple Leafs went on to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Referees for the game were Cody Beach (#45) and Pierre Lambert (#37), with Michel Cormier (#76) and Jonathan Deschamps (#80) on lines.
