Evan Bouchard scored from a slap shot near the blue line, but as the puck crossed the line, Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs was down on the ice. Connor McDavid had crashed into Silovs, but he was clearly pushed into the net by the Canucks defender. Arturs Silovs also come directly to the top of the crease, and definitely went down a little too easy trying to draw a call.
The referees immediately called for no goal, and seemingly in the final second of the period had no appetite to review their call. Even Coach Knoblauch didn't initiate challenge, seemingly not wanting to risk the penalty for a wrong challenge in a tied game. Still, knowing that goaltender interference does not apply when the player is pushed into the crease, there was merit for the goal to be overturned.
On the NHL broadcast, Elliotte Friedman explained that he believed it would be goaltender interference because McDavid didn't make enough effort to get out of the crease. Many fans and players still feel there's a great inconsistency with goaltender interference calls, and in a situation like this, it's easy to see why.
Tied at 1 after the first period, the Oilers are going to need to push together even more to try to steal a win from the Canucks and force a game 7.
POLL | ||
18 MAI | 385 ANSWERS Referees immediately waive off critical Oilers goal without review Is this goalie interference or a good goal? | ||
Goalie interference | 170 | 44.2 % |
Good goal | 194 | 50.4 % |
See Results | 21 | 5.5 % |
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