Panthers Goalie Wants To Know What They're Smoking In The NHL Situation Room
I mean, in fairness, we all wonder this sometimes.
Sometimes the NHL's Situation Room has a bit of a Wizard of Oz, "Man-Behind-The-Curtain" feel to it. While the league is usually pretty good about explaining its decisions after the fact, sometimes they can still be head-scratchers.
Now, Florida Panthers netminder Daniil Tarasov wants to know what they're smoking in Toronto after a call went against him and the Cats.
The incident in question happened around the halfway point of the third period in Friday night's game between the Panthers and Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo's Beck Malenstyn fired a shot from the point, and Sabres forward Mattias Samuelsson battled Panther Niko Mikkola down low to get in front of it.
He did a decent job because Melenstyn's shot hit the back of the net to put the Sabres up by one.
However, upon closer inspection, Samuelsson's stick clearly made contact with Tarasov's glove, something that under most circumstances should be a pretty slam-dunk goaltender interference call.
But… well, I think you know where this is headed.
According to Sportsnet, the NHL ruled that because the contact happened in the white part of the ice outside the crease, the goal was going to stand.
I don't know about you, but my mind went to instances of contact being initiated outside the crease that were still ruled to be goaltender interference.
It was a big call that late in a tie game, and Buffalo went on to win 3-2.
Coach Paul Maurice was irate — though that could've also had something to do with the minor penalty his team earned for a failed challenge — and after the game, so was Tarasov.
"What are these guys smoking there?" Tarasov said of the Situation Room, per FLAHockeyNow, "Or, they’re disappointed for yesterday’s [Leafs] loss? I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I went to play the puck, and this guy drives into me, and they said it was slightly contact, which is allowed because he’s trying to tip this puck? I can’t even move a different way, reach for the puck.
"Two days ago, it was goalie interference when you touched the glove. It wasn’t a goal."
I think the last line is key, because that's all anyone wants out of Toronto: consistency. The Panthers probably thought they had an easy challenge on their hand — I thought that too — but nope. Not according to the Situation Room.
And to add insult to injury for Florida, Buffalo's win came thanks to some stellar play from former Panther Alex Lyon.
As it stands, the Sabres are second in the Atlantic Division, even on points with the Detroit Red Wings as of Saturday afternoon.