Paul Stewart: Another Night, Another Goalie Interference Rule Debacle

I didn't see the game but when I saw the replay....instantly I thought it was a good goal....and still do. The puck was never covered and the goaltender was never 100% sure of where it was...therefore it was still in play. That little poke or prod with Willaims stick played a very little role in Stalock going back into the net. Stalock's backward momentum put him there.

Stalock's backward momentum put him there.
- NewfieStud

Wait?? Which momentum?? He was not moving at all, when Williams pushed him...

I didn't see the game but when I saw the replay....instantly I thought it was a good goal....and still do. The puck was never covered and the goaltender was never 100% sure of where it was...therefore it was still in play. That little poke or prod with Willaims stick played a very little role in Stalock going back into the net. Stalock's backward momentum put him there.
- NewfieStud

Stalock was stationary until Williams poke his stick through his pads, causing him to slide backwards.

I didn't see the game but when I saw the replay....instantly I thought it was a good goal....and still do. The puck was never covered and the goaltender was never 100% sure of where it was...therefore it was still in play. That little poke or prod with Willaims stick played a very little role in Stalock going back into the net. Stalock's backward momentum put him there.
- NewfieStud

So next time a goalie catches the puck with his glove, maybe someone can push his arm back into the net and get credited with a goal?

I think the ref was right in not blowing the whistle...but should've disallowed the goal. Had Williams fought to get around the goalie and push the puck, that would've been another story...but he just blatantly pushes the goalie backwards.

If they want to allow those kinds of goal, that's fine...but then it can't be some are allowed and some not.

Stalock was stationary until Williams poke his stick through his pads, causing him to slide backwards.
- Streit2ThePoint

Rare is the day when I am on the same side as a Flyers fan, but this is one of them. I HATE the--for lack of a better word--"tradition" in the playoffs that allows attackers to pitchfork and skewer goalies in an attempt to push them or the puck over the line. I see on a nightly basis plays where a goaltender appears to have the puck covered only to have it dislodged when attackers crash the net shoving their sticks anywhere they can get them. I have seen numerous pucks knocked loose, then subsequently in the net. At what point is a goaltender considered to have possession? It's easy when its in his catching glove, but when he pins the puck to the ice with a pad, at what point is play to be blown dead? I have seen numerous plays where it cannot be humanly possible for a referee to continue to see the puck, yet play is not blown dead and eventually, the goalie and or puck is shoved into the net.

I was surprised in the Blues-Hawks final game that the one goal wasn't protested by the Blues where a hawk was in the crease and lightly bumped Miller, but he did bump him. I thought we would be having this conversation over that goal.

Wasn't watching this game live, but was monitoring Twitter while enjoying the Wild game. Saw all kinds of mentions of the Williams goal, and a lotta questions about "How could it possibly be a goal?"

I was expecting to see some kind of crazy trucking of the goalie or something like that. I was very surprised to conclude after watching the highlight, "Man, that just might be a good goal. Can't really see any reason to disallow it." Guess I just needed a little reminder that the fans and media don't always have the best judgement and rules knowledge. Not sure why I needed that reminder, but there it was.

Great job by Chris Lee to "get to where the money is." If he could see that puck back towards Stalock's heels, good on him. Well done.

Wasn't watching this game live, but was monitoring Twitter while enjoying the Wild game. Saw all kinds of mentions of the Williams goal, and a lotta questions about "How could it possibly be a goal?"

I was expecting to see some kind of crazy trucking of the goalie or something like that. I was very surprised to conclude after watching the highlight, "Man, that just might be a good goal. Can't really see any reason to disallow it." Guess I just needed a little reminder that the fans and media don't always have the best judgement and rules knowledge. Not sure why I needed that reminder, but there it was.

Great job by Chris Lee to "get to where the money is." If he could see that puck back towards Stalock's heels, good on him. Well done.
- Doubles

This applies to your post if you think this is a good goal:
Guess I just needed a little reminder that the fans and media don't always have the best judgement and rules knowledge.

Kerry Fraser sees it the other way Mr. Stewart...

The puck wasn't knocked loose, it was already loose sitting between Stlalock's heels. What SJ was guilty of is the same thing that Kings were guilty of on Hertl's PP goal the other night and Dallas on the tying goal in game 6 of their series: NOT CLEANING HOUSE AND CLEARING THE CREASE!!! I blame the softening of the game in the regular season for this. Defenseman are forgetting how to protect the crease when it counts the most...and their teams are paying dearly for it. It's the hardest, scariest place to go to, and for a reason!! You go to the front of the net, you're going to feel it but the rewards can be more than worth the pain!

Great playoff hockey, ladies and germs, sit back and enjoy the show!

San Jose doesnt play like complete trash in games 4 and 5, or plays a better game last night, this goal becomes a completely moot point. This happens every year, every round, every series.

Is this the most egregious interference ever? Not even kinda. Stalock never covered it. Be mad at the ref all you want, Stalock couldnt sell the cover, the ref moved to better positioning, and the Pavelski just let Williams poke and push. I'm not gonna have sympathy for the Sharks here, especially if they have the delusion built up that THIS was what undid them in this series. A team comes back from 3-0 to tie, chances are it wasnt that the refs had it out for you. Stop handing the ref the opportunity to determine your series if you think they are that impactful on the result.

This wasnt like the Minny-Colorado non calls. That was 2 parts of the same sequence that were obviously missed by the refs. The fact that there's even a debate about whether nor not this was interference... everyone should settle down.

And just as a last point, If Stalock covers that, Williams can push him all the wants and as long as the puck cant be seen visibly crossing the line...it's no goal(unless that rule changed recently, IDK). Clear the crease. There are so many other things wrong with that play. Pavelski doesnt tie the stick up, doesnt hit him until it's too late.

(That all being said, it wasnt clean. But, just based on twitter's reaction alone, I'm choosing the other side here. Last night's reaction was ABSURD.)

Kerry Fraser sees it the other way Mr. Stewart...
- Team_Teal

Kerry's prerogative. I stand by my blog. Positioning sells calls.

Kerry's prerogative. I stand by my blog. Positioning sells calls.
- Paul Stewart

The fact that two of the best-ever NHL refs have differing slants on the same play is a pretty good indicator that the rulebook could use an overhaul.

Sad for the game how the NHL suits want nothing more than "yes men" to hold important executive positions within the league, especially related to officiating. Saddest part is that because the NHL suits can't check their egos at the door, the game has to suffer. So much wrong with that picture.

Kerry's prerogative. I stand by my blog. Positioning sells calls.
- Paul Stewart

lol?

Stallock was stationary, he was pushed back, which caused the puck to be pushed into the net. How this can be judged a good goal by anybody wearing stripes is mind blowing.

Ovechkin did the same thing to Price a couple years back and they called it a goal too.

Honestly, if I was on a breakaway in the NHL, I think I'd just slide the puck towards the 5-hole and just shove the goalie & puck into the net. Cause that's exactly what you just described as a good goal.

Unreal.

Refs need to start to be held accountable for their actions. It really is quite embarrassing for the league to have such amateur officiating that will cost a team the game more often than not.

lol?

Stallock was stationary, he was pushed back, which caused the puck to be pushed into the net. How this can be judged a good goal by anybody wearing stripes is mind blowing.

Ovechkin did the same thing to Price a couple years back and they called it a goal too.

Honestly, if I was on a breakaway in the NHL, I think I'd just slide the puck towards the 5-hole and just shove the goalie & puck into the net. Cause that's exactly what you just described as a good goal.

Unreal.
- Leito49

Unfortunately, it depends on who the player/team is that scores the goal. That, for the most part, makes the ref's mind up for them.

Kerry Fraser sees it the other way Mr. Stewart...
- Team_Teal

which only serves to further Stewie's point about the ambiguity of the rule book. Two HoF refs see something different from the exact same situation. It's the human element of the game, judgement.

I'm sure you were upset when the snow shower was unjustly called on Pearson? Or when Pavelski snapped his head back even though I had trouble even seeing if the stick actually made contact with his face (looked more like it was in the area of his shoulder which would still be high sticking but WOULD NOT cause Pudalski to snap his head back like that)...

play on.

On the Kings broadcast they showed the play
From above looking down. The puck came loose and The goalie turned to find it.
It can be seen immediately and when the goalie looked back Williams went digging. Williams fell 3 feet from the goalie after being checked.
The puck goes over the line after contact from Williams stick poke. Looked like a good goal to me. With what I've seen allowed or disallowed this year, this one rates as a very easy one to call.

I think its the right call. Its not like the goalie is sitting on the puck and he is pushed in. I think Williams could see a loose puck and the Goalie pad was in between him and the loose puck, what is he suppose to do? The puck was never covered, and I believe Williams saw the loose puck and tried to get his stick on it and the goalie got in the way. Many times players can't see a puck and just ram sticks into the goalie, I don't think this is one of them.

Total garage league call by the referee..........

Dat Chris Lee working his magic right there.

Dude,

Will you PLEASE for the love of god do a piece on how bad officiating has been in these playoffs? How the rules change from one side of the ice to the other?

How tackling players is A ok to the refs, but you better not hook them!

Try to give an actual report as a fan. Why should we EVER accept such GARBAGE?

This is bush league officiating. It's ruining the sport. Ref's now ref the score of the game instead of just calling the penalties.

Why are NHL referees in the way so often? They especially seem involved between the blue line and top of the circles as the puck enters the zone. Often this limits the options of a defenseman retrieving the puck, forcing him to turn one way. Does the NHL teach this positioning or is this a case where they don't teach at all?

Why are NHL referees in the way so often? They especially seem involved between the blue line and top of the circles as the puck enters the zone. Often this limits the options of a defenseman retrieving the puck, forcing him to turn one way. Does the NHL teach this positioning or is this a case where they don't teach at all?
- Terrier13

I had similar questions when I was a player before I started reffing. After reffing for about 15 years now I can definitely empathize. There are rare times when a ref or linesman is just in no-man's-land, but for the most part it's a play developing around them that they don't really have many options on. I'm actually pretty impressed with how well they stay out of the way a lot of the time considering the areas they need to be to make calls, the blue line and the goal line, are the high traffic areas.