Minnesota Wild baffled by goalie interference call vs. Penguins (Video)

“Your honor, presenting Exhibit No. 634 in the case of the People vs. A Lack Of Video Review Oversight On NHL Goalie Interference Calls…”

The Minnesota Wild were down two goals in the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Mikael Granlund took the puck to the net and fired a shot on goalie Thomas Greiss. The puck rebounded. Defenseman Kris Letang made contact with Granlund, who landed on top of Greiss. Another shot was saved. Then another shot by Mikko Koivu went into the net before being swept out by the glove of Marcel Goc.

None of this mattered. Referee Francois St. Laurent waved off the goal, citing incidental goalie interference. Greiss couldn’t make a save, so the goal didn’t count.

Look, maybe you see Granlund and the Wild infringing on Greiss’s space, not allowing him to make a save even if the contact was incidental. Maybe Granlund needed to make a greater effort to get back to his skates.

Or maybe you think Letang is the reason Granlund ended up on Greiss, and thus “if an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”

The point is that this was a non-reviewable play. Which isn’t just an easy out for the referee, but completely bonkers in 2014 with the camera technology available.

Again, we can debate the play until our faces match the Wild’s hockey pants. But to not have a formal video review of the play, or at least give coach Mike Yeo a mechanism to challenge it, is nonsensical in today’s NHL.