SEATTLE –– While Jamie Oleksiak led the celebration line after his point shot gave the Seattle Kraken a 3-2 lead with 3:13 to play in regulation, the New York Islanders were quick to wave down the officials and get a review.
As Oleksiak released the puck from the point, Brandon Tanev, on his own, went into the blue paint and bumped into netminder Ilya Sorokin.
The shot deflected off of Nelson and less than a second later snuck under an off-balanced Sorokin and in.
But after review, the call on the ice stood, and the Islanders left Seattle with a regulation loss, their first in five games:
While the Islanders did have 3:13 to come back and find an equalizer, they were given a two-minute penalty for the failed challenge.
Brock Nelson, who scored earlier in the third period, got on a breakaway but was stoned by Kraken netminder Joey Daccord.
After the game, Patrick Roy was furious that the challenge did not lead to a call reversal.
“[The explanation] was a funny one. He said it was not enough,” Roy said. “He went in by himself. He bumped into our goalie while the puck was coming. And apparently, there’s enough and not enough in our league.”
The New York Post’s Ethan Sears began to ask Roy a question starting with “Do you think” but the Islanders’ bench boss didn’t let him finish.
“That we got robbed?” Roy said. “Yeah.”
Sears then asked Roy if he felt like he had a strong understanding of the rule and how the NHL enforces it.
“I guess tonight, I don’t because there’s enough and not enough,” Roy said. “Somebody’s going to have to explain to me what’s enough and not enough. You’re in the crease, or you’re not in the crease by yourself. You bump into the goalie, or you don’t bump into the goalie. That was the first time I ever heard that. I guess I didn’t play enough games.
Newsday’s Andrew Gross then said,” Yeah, I was confused” in which Roy replied with,”Totally. We all are.”
I went up to Anders Lee after the game and asked what he saw on the replay.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
“With the calls that are going on in this league right now, it’s tough to even know,” Lee told The Hockey News. “I saw it the other night against Toronto and Washington. So many of these are up in the air. You might as well give it a shot and it didn’t go for us tonight.”
Here’s the play that Lee is referring to from the Toronto-Washington game, where barely any contact was called goalie interference:
Nelson, who made it clear that he needed to block the Oleksiak shot completely, shared his thoughts on the failed challenge.
“I feel like there’s quite a few different interpretations of goal interference between the league and referees and players, so we thought he was in the crease without being pushed in by one of our guys and made contact,” Nelson said. “I guess they deemed it not to be enough of interference.”
Here’s what the league said regarding their decision:
“Video review confirmed that Brandon Tanev’s position in the crease did not impair Ilya Sorokin’s ability to play his position.”
The Islanders didn’t lose this game because of a failed challenge.
They were up 2-1 in the third period but blew the lead after having chances to extend it.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Did they deserve a point, with every point critical in this Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference wild-card race?
Yes, they did, especially since they continued to play strong hockey despite still being down two-thirds of their top line and the entire left side of their defense.
Unfortunately, the Islanders, instead of having points in six straight games, lose their second game in their last three (1-1-1) and head to Calgary with a sour taste in their mouth.
