Stuart Skinner got it right on the Coach’s Challenge for goaltender interference – and he didn’t even get to see the replay.
Midway through the third period Monday night in Winnipeg, Gustav Stjernberg’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Stuart Skinner. Colorado Avalanche thought they had cut the Jets’ lead to 2-1. Before the celebration could start, Skinner was already pleading his cse of a goaltender interference call.
“I just thought [Fedor Svechkov] was in the blue paint way before any other action happened, so that’s kind of why I was talking to the ref there,” Skinner said after the game. “He thought DeMelo was pushing him in.”
If Svechkov is pushed, that negates the body contact as possible interference under 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 video showed that wasn’t the case on this play. Svechkov and DeMelo were battling for position in the crease as Stjernberg’s shot came through. Svechkov made contact with Skinner’s glove before the puck arrived, impairing the goaltender’s ability to defend his net.
After a thorough review by the NHL’s Situation Room, the call was reversed: No goal.
The Jets took advantahge of the momentum from their success challenge which has just turned a possible 2-1 game into 2-0. Winnipeg’s Dylan DeMelo scored just 28 seconds after play resumed to give the Jets a 3-0 lead.
Skinner wasn’t the only one who immediately reacted to the interference on the goal. Jets head coach Scott Arniel said his video coaches, Matt Prefontaine and Wade Flaherty, were quick to flag the contact in the crease.
“We’ve been trying to figure this out for a few years on goalie interference,” Arniel said. “The red light came on right away in the sense of from Matty and from Flats, it was pretty quick. So we were pretty sure.”
So was Skinner.
“I felt like I knew right away, but at the same time there are times I think I know what I’m talking about and I don’t,” Skinner said. “Just fortunate that I saw it clearly this time.”
The Winnipeg Jets held on for a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche, with Skinner making 31 saves in his Jets debut. The officials for Monday’s game were referees Stephen Hiff (#33) and Michael Markovic (#31), with linespersons David Brisebois (#96) and Shawn Oliver (#66).
