Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Cooper said his “heart is breaking” for his players because he believes the winner of Nazem Kadri’s overtime in Game 4 should not have been honored.
Cooper answered a question and looked emotional as he spoke of the loss, saying it was one of the hardest losses of his career. He then told reporters he would talk to them tomorrow before leaving the podium.
“We’re all in this together, players, coaches, referees, everyone,” Cooper said. “But this one will sting a lot more than the others … You will understand what I mean when you see the winning goal.
“My heart breaks for the players because we still have to play.”
While Cooper was unclear why he thought the goal should not have been scored, Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde later told the team’s television cameraman, Dave Randorf, that “an interesting change … is the difference.”
“We’re probably talking about a 50-foot change … that’s a pretty bad thing,” Lalonde added.
Video shows that Avalanche had six players on the ice when Kadri scored the winning goal. Nathan McKinnon was about to get off the ice when Kadri, who had just jumped the boards, got a pass, came in and scored.
However, Rule 74.1 (too many men on the ice) states: “When a player withdraws from the ice surface and is within five feet (5 ‘) of the limit of his players’ bench and his deputy is on the ice, then the withdrawing player will be considered off the ice. “McKinnon seems to be at that distance by the time Kadri receives the puck.
Following Cooper’s comments, the NHL issued a statement to Stephen Wino of the AP.
“Too many men on the ice is a sentence that can be handed down by any of the four employees on the ice,” the statement said. “After the match, Hockey Operations met with the four officials, as is their normal protocol. In discussing the winning goal, each of the four officials advised that he had not seen too many men in the icy situation of the game.
“This call is not subject to video review by either Hockey Ops or the ice staff.”
Avalanche members were surprised to hear Cooper’s comments when they were informed about them during their own press conferences.
“I’m not quite sure what Cooper was thinking, why it shouldn’t have been counted,” Kadri said. “The puck hit the back of the net, the end of the story.”
“I didn’t hear any confusion,” added Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar.
Additional fuel was added to this debate when a playlist handed out by NHL reporters on the spot in Tampa indicated that six Avalanche skaters were on the ice when the goal was scored. However, one of the listed players was the defender Eric Johnson, who was not on the ice after a video review. The NHL has corrected the error in the playlist published on its website.
ESPN’s Greg Wiszynski said the NHL believed the mistake was due to the fact that all Avalanche players jumped on the ice in celebration after Kadri scored.
Whether the goal should have been scored or not, Avalanche will have their first chance to win the series and win the Stanley Cup on Friday in Denver.
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