The Tampa Bay Lightning desperately needed a win against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday to avoid falling behind 0-3 in their opening round playoff series, but they were unable to get. Thanks in part to a controversial goaltender interference call, Tampa Bay is now one game away from elimination.
It looked like the Lightning had taken a 2-1 lead in the second period when forward Ryan Callahan scored after a series of shots that sent Canadiens goaltender Carey Price scrambling all over the ice. However, an official ruled that a Lightning player had interfered with Price and waved off the goal.
Lightning center Alex Killorn inadvertently ended up in the net after losing his balance. When he went to make his way back into the play, he barely grazed Price. Apparently the official felt that he made enough contact with Price to affect his ability to make a save. Here is the official rule on goaltender interference, courtesy of Puck Daddy:
69.3 Contact Inside the Goal Crease – If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.
The fact that it happened in the crease probably made the call easier. Still, there was no way Price was going to get back into position in time to make that save. Shortly after the call, Steven Stamkos took a knee to the back of the head and had to leave the game. Montreal went on to win 3-2 and may have put an unofficial end to the Lightning’s season.
