Last night, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic scored a goal from his own end despite it being the middle of the second period. Due to a miscommunication and the Tampa Bay Lightning believing that the play was dead, goaltender Jonas Johansson left his let allowing Kovacevic to shoot at the empty net.
Luckily, this play did not affect the outcome of the game as the Lightning were still able to win 4-3 in regulation.
Today, a video showing an angle that catches the referee shows the referee about to blow the whistle, taking it out of his mouth, and telling Kovacevic to keep playing despite pretty much everybody on the ice stopping play.
While some are arguing that the players should have played till they heard a whistle, they heard the arena DJ playing music which almost always means that play was blown dead and the players assumed that play was blown dead.
Former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna offered some insight into the situation as a former player:
Nonetheless, it is clear that the referee made a biased call but luckily his hiccup was not enough to cost the Lightning the game.
POLL | ||
1 JANVIER | 1472 ANSWERS NHL Referee Caught On Camera Rigging A Game Between The Lightning And The Canadiens Should this referee be investigated? | ||
Yes | 740 | 50.3 % |
No | 732 | 49.7 % |
List of polls |