SUNRISE, Fla. - The NHL’s goalie interference rule took center stage once again during the Buffalo Sabres' thrilling 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
With just over eight minutes left in the third period, Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn fired a shot from the point, giving Buffalo a crucial 2-1 lead. The play was anything but straightforward, as Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson was right at the net, attempting to deflect the puck.
His stick made contact with Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov's glove, yet the puck found its way into the net. Panthers coach Paul Maurice challenged the play, hoping for a goalie interference call, but the officials upheld the goal.
Maurice’s frustration was palpable on the bench, and Tarasov didn’t hold back his feelings post-game. The call was reviewed in the NHL’s situation room in Toronto, and Tarasov speculated about potential bias, given the Panthers’ recent victory over the Maple Leafs.
“It was contact before the shot,” Tarasov remarked. “They made the call based on Toronto.
I don’t know what these guys are thinking. Or maybe they’re upset about yesterday’s loss.
It’s tough to reach the puck when you’re being driven into. In my opinion, there was a similar situation recently, and it wasn’t called a goal.”
He continued, expressing his confusion over the rule’s consistency: “I don’t know the rules, and they seem to change every game.”
Maurice echoed Tarasov’s sentiments, noting that he saw contact with the glove twice, making it an obvious challenge for him. He backed Tarasov’s perspective, saying, “Ride what he said.”
According to the NHL rulebook, goalie interference is defined by any action that impairs a goaltender's ability to move freely or defend the goal, whether intentional or incidental. However, incidental contact is allowed if it occurs outside the crease and the player makes a reasonable effort to avoid it.
In this instance, the NHL determined the contact was incidental. “After video review, it was determined that the incidental contact between Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson and Florida’s goaltender Daniil Tarasov occurred in the white ice and, therefore, did not constitute goaltender interference,” the NHL stated.
The goal was pivotal for the Sabres, propelling them to a 3-2 win and moving them up to second place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Panthers, reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, find themselves with 63 points, trailing the Boston Bruins by eight points for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.