One of the key turning points of the Bruins’ Game 4 win on Sunday came when they tied it at 2-2 with a Jake DeBrusk power-play late in the second period. Not only did they get the goal, but they went right back on the power play thanks to Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour’s failed challenge for goaltender interference.
Another penalty on Sebastian Aho 51 seconds later gave the Bruins an extended 5-on-3 that carried over to the third period and helped set up Brad Marchand’s go-ahead goal.
Needless to say, the failed challenge proved costly for the Hurricanes. But after the game, Brind’Amour said he had no regrets about challenging, and still believed the goal should’ve been called back.
“I would’ve bet my life on that one,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s tough. It’s clear, especially the view that we saw after, that [the puck’s] in between his pads and loose. I’m all good on that. But the guy [DeBrusk] came from the side, pushes his pads, squirts the puck out, taps it in. It's a little different if the guy had come in from the front and was actually playing the puck.”
Replay showed that Antti Raanta’s left leg was pushed on the play, but it’s unclear if it was DeBrusk’s stick or the stick of Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce that did it. Possibly a combination of both, as both made contact.
The NHL cited rule 69.7 in explaining its decision. That rule states that, “In a rebound situation, or where a goalkeeper and attacking player(s) are simultaneously attempting to play a loose puck, whether inside or outside the crease, incidental contact will be permitted, and any goal that is scored as a result thereof will be allowed.”
That would seem to fit this play. It’s a loose puck, and the contact from DeBrusk looks incidental as he’s trying to get to it. Trying to argue that DeBrusk intentionally moved Raanta with his stick seems like a reach.
Brind’Amour, however, tried to compare it to Nino Niederreiter’s goal in Game 1 that was disallowed due to goalie interference.
“You can't play the puck when it's in between his legs from the side and knock the goalie sideways and turn him to squirt it out. If you can, then I don’t how Niederreiter’s isn’t a goal in the first game when they said 100 percent it’s not a goal,” Brind’Amour said. “So it’s frustrating, because it almost feels like we’re living this again from four years ago when we had an issue. I’m not gonna go into it, but it’s tough. They’re too good a team to just give them goals. We’re gonna have no chance if that happens.”
You can watch the Niederreiter play below and compare for yourself. From my perspective, they’re not the same play. On this one, it’s clearly a Carolina stick that jams into Linus Ullmark’s pads and pushes him backwards into the goal, taking the puck with him. The puck enters the net at the exact spot where Ullmark is being pushed. On DeBrusk’s goal on Sunday, he actually ends up scoring into a different area of the net anyways.
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