The Toronto Maple Leafs believed they had evened up their thrilling contest against the Arizona Coyotes at 3-3 when Alex Kerfoot scored the apparent tying goal with 37.7 seconds left in the third period on Monday.
But wait, not so fast.
Upon further review from the Situation Room, Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly was ruled to have committed a hand pass violation in the moments leading up to the goal.
In an attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone, Rielly batted the puck down near the blue line before getting tied up with Coyotes forward Clayton Keller. Teammate Mitch Marner then took possession.
Marner flipped the puck deep into the offensive zone where Kerfoot would score just seconds later.
Because the play occurred during the last minute of regulation, the goal was reviewed and eventually overturned due to the hand pass.
The Situation Room determined “Rielly batted the puck with his hand inside the attacking zone before teammate Mitchell Marner gained possession and control. According to rule 79.1, a player may bat the puck in the air with his open hand ‘unless in the opinion of the on-ice officials he has directed the puck to a teammate or has as allowed his team to gain an advantage, and subsequently possession and control of the puck is obtained by a player of the offending team either directly or deflected off any player or official.’ In this case, it was deemed Marner was the first player to possession and control of the puck after Rielly batted it with his hand.”
The Coyotes would score an empty netter and to take home the 4-2 victory.
Safe to say Maple Leafs fans in attendance weren’t too happy with the review and determination.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe believed the play may not have been conclusive enough to overturn, seeing as the call on the ice was a good goal.
“We thought that the call could have gone our way, or at the very least was not conclusive enough to overturn it,” said Keefe after the game.
Marner thought he was in the clear to take possession after believing to see Keller touch the puck.
“Saw (Rielly) bat it down. Saw Keller get at least a foot on it, so I thought it was a live puck. So, I play it. I guess I gotta look more into the rules and leave it next time for (Rielly),” Marner said.
The Maple Leafs will look to regroup when they take on the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
