SEATTLE — Islanders coach Patrick Roy was in disbelief Saturday afternoon, furious over a missed challenge on Kraken's Jamie Oleksiak's game-winning goal due to goaltender interference.
Brandon Tanev was battling Isaiah George in the crease and appeared to make contact with Isles netminder Ilya Sorokin when Oleksiak shot the puck.
The puck then spilled off Sorokin's pads with 3:13 left, giving Seattle a 3-2 lead and the Kraken tying the game.
Roy then completely denounced the call, interrupting a question about his feelings and saying: Yeah. “
The goalkeeper interference rule has been a controversial lightning rod in the past due to inconsistent enforcement, but Roy's comments have brought it back into the spotlight.
Roy said he was told there wasn't enough contact to constitute interference, which led to open mistrust on his part.
“I don't think it's possible tonight. [understand the rule]” he said. “Because there's enough and there's not enough. Someone's going to have to explain to me what's enough and what's not enough. Are you in the crease or are you in the crease yourself?” Does it not go in? Will it hit the goalie, or will it not hit the goalie?
“This is the first time I've heard of it. I guess I didn't play enough games.”
Rule 69.1 states: “A goal is not allowed only if: (1) an attacking player, by positioning or contact, interferes with the goalkeeper's ability to move freely in his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or intentional contact with the goaltender inside or outside the goal crease.”
Sorokin was openly embarrassed by the rule, asking reporters in the dressing room, “Do you think this is interference?”
Still, the goalkeeper was responsible.
“I thought that would get through to our players, so I changed the angle,” he told the Post. “I think it's my fault.”
His teammates shared that he didn't understand the rules.
“Sometimes it feels like we’re flipping a coin,” Brock Nelson said. “But we thought it was interference. I think we had a game the other night where it looked like there was minimal contact, and then we got turned over in another game. So the situation at the time was Considering that, I felt it was a good enough challenge.”
Alexander Romanov (upper body) participated in full contact for the first time in Friday's practice, but was absent from Saturday's game.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau played after missing Friday's practice for maintenance.
