Category Archives: Hockey News

Cooper: ‘Zero idea why’ referee blew whistle on disallowed Lightning goal

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wasn't as animated postgame as he was in the immediate aftermath of a disallowed goal that would've given his club a 4-2 lead in an eventual overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

But he appeared to be just as baffled about the referee blowing the play dead.

"I have zero idea why he blew the whistle," Cooper said after a 4-3 defeat in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. "It was shocking. The entire building - there (were) 20,000 people - saw (the puck) was sitting right there. What I don't get is I don't know what the ref had to gain by blowing the whistle."

Late in the second period, Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie tried to clear the puck out of his team's defensive zone from behind the net. His attempt deflected off Lightning forward Brayden Point in front before the attacking player forced it in. However, the goal was immediately nullified on the blown whistle.

"Listen, that's not why we lost (if) you look back now," Cooper acknowledged postgame. "But I just don't get it."

Maple Leafs center Ryan O'Reilly tied the game with one minute remaining in regulation before blue-liner Morgan Rielly netted the winner with 45 seconds left in the extra frame.

Toronto took a 2-1 series lead as a result. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in Tampa Bay.

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Stamkos, Matthews fight after Rielly crumples Point into boards

Chaos ensued in Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning after Morgan Rielly crunched Brayden Point into the boards.

Point appeared to be favoring his midsection and briefly exited the game before returning.

Rielly was initially given a five-minute major for the hit, but the penalty was reduced after a review. He and Darren Raddysh were given two-minute offsetting roughing minors.

Amid the post-hit skirmish, Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos dropped the gloves. It was the first career fight for Matthews and the first scrap in NHL history between two 60-goal scorers.

Ryan O'Reilly and Nikita Kucherov were also given fighting majors.

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Lightning get Hedman back for Game 3 vs. Maple Leafs

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is in the lineup for Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

The star blue-liner missed Game 2 and the final two periods of Game 1 after suffering an undisclosed injury.

With Hedman returning, Haydn Fleury exited the lineup. Erik Cernak remained out, though, so the Lightning went with the following defense pairs:

LD RD
Victor Hedman Nick Perbix
Mikhail Sergachev Darren Raddysh
Ian Cole Zach Bogosian

Hedman has been a Norris Trophy finalist in each of the last six seasons, winning the award in 2018. He's coming off a down year by his standards, though, as he recorded 49 points - his lowest since 2015-16 - in 76 regular-season games.

The 6-foot-6 Swede has a knack for elevating his game in the playoffs. The 2020 Conn Smythe Trophy winner entered Saturday with 107 points in 156 career postseason contests.

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Jets’ Morrissey sustains lower-body injury in Game 3

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey exited Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body injury.

Morrissey played just 1:14 before leaving the game. The team confirmed he won't return to the contest.

The 28-year-old appeared to sustain the injury in a collision with Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

The Jets are already without forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti due to injuries.

Morrissey set career-high marks in the regular season with 16 goals and 76 points in 78 games.

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Oilers lament Kings’ controversial OT winner after high stick review

The biggest story out of Los Angeles on Friday night wasn't Connor McDavid's two goals in under two minutes; it was a lengthy overtime review for a potential high stick.

With the Kings on the power play in the extra frame, Los Angeles forward Gabriel Vilardi appeared to hit the puck overhead with a high stick. However, the play continued, with Vilardi setting up Trevor Moore in front of the Oilers' net to give the Kings a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead.

Although McDavid raised his arm as Vilardi's apparent high stick went uncalled, a subsequent review by the league's situation room found no conclusive evidence that the puck made contact with Vilardi's stick above the normal height of his shoulders.

"The puck kinda goes up and it goes off his stick. So I call, 'High stick.' That's what I saw on the ice," McDavid recalled postgame. "Obviously, play goes on and they score. They have that review in place for a reason. I guess they determined they couldn't tell."

Here's a closer look at the incident:

Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft backed his superstar.

"I thought it's a play where the greatest player in the world is two feet away as it happens," Woodcroft said. "His arm comes straight up in the air because he knows that it hit the stick. Otherwise, he wouldn't put his arm up in the air, he would keep playing.

"It appears to me in the video that the puck's going straight up in a trajectory and deadens. In the end, I'm gonna go with the greatest player in the world who's three feet away."

Despite the controversy, Woodcroft acknowledged the Oilers can take fewer penalties. Edmonton has amassed 36 penalty minutes throughout the series, while Los Angeles has taken 22.

Leon Draisaitl, who also took a slashing penalty that led to a Kings power-play goal in Game 3, admitted that his team could be "smarter." However, he also expressed frustration with the officiating, arguing that defenseman Drew Doughty got away with a hit on McDavid.

"You don't call a clear knee-on-knee right in front of you, and then you call a slashing penalty - which is not smart on my part, I know that - but I just don't really know what the standard is right now," Draisaitl said.

Game 4 is set for Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

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