One of the most ridiculous goalie interference calls was made during last night's Leafs-Capitals game
NHL officials are constantly under scrutiny for missed and sometimes atrocious calls. Last night was no different, as Nic Dowd's goal was called back.
Wednesday night's tilt between the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs had an electric ending, with Toronto winning in overtime.
But rather than discussions of a game-winner, the post-game talk was more about the officials, who initiated four video reviews, overturning three crucial calls in the process.
One of those moments came when the Capitals felt shortchanged on what could've been a 3-1 lead.
During the second, John Carlson found the back of the net, apparently putting Washington up by two goals.
Toronto's head coach, Craig Berube, quickly challenged the play citing goalie interference.
After a long review, officials ruled that Capitals forward Nic Dowd had interfered with Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll and wiped out the goal.
Interference was called, and social media blew up in frustration that such a call had been made, many insisting the action by Dowd in no way impeded Woll's ability to make the save.
Several referenced a controversial play involving Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk just weeks ago, where he made contact with a goalie and even took his stick before scoring, yet that goal counted.
Later in the game came another review, when a high-sticking penalty was initially called on Toronto's Matthew Knies.
After a second look it was determined Dowd's shoulder indeed made contact with Knies, off-setting the penalty.
The Leafs then scored a goal against Washington which was disallowed when Steven Lorentz was ruled to have intentionally kicked the puck into the net in the third period.
Minutes later, another apparent goal by Knies was called back when it was ruled his stick was above the crossbar on a tip-in attempt.
With those twists, Toronto found a way to square the game at 3-3 and eventually win it in overtime.
However, with the continuous reviews, the fans and even some analysts like Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan felt that the referees had headlined the night and took away momentum from the game.
»All of these reviews should be under review,» he wrote on X.
| POLL | ||
Did the referees ruin yesterday's Leafs-Capitals game? | ||
| Yes | 53 | 73.6 % |
| No | 19 | 26.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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