Wilkes-Barre looks to bounce back after OT controversy
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Toronto Marlies ended in controversy over an odd goal that gave the Marlies a 2-1 overtime win.
The Penguins had been playing well throughout this game. Sergei Murashov was outstanding. After an insane Alex Nylander power-play shot in the first period gave Toronto the game's first lead, Tanner Howe tied the game by going to the net and putting in a rebound in the third period, ultimately forcing overtime.
After heavily outshooting Toronto in Game 1 but failing to get too many quality shots by playing perimeter hockey and not going to the net-front, the Penguins' play here was a massive upgrade. They were getting good chances. They were making Toronto goaltender Artur Akhtyamov's job hard.
That continued early into overtime. Six minutes into the extra frame, and the Penguins were outshooting Toronto 7-1. Ville Koivunen was inches away from scoring off a redirect. Rafael Harvey-Pinard had a prime chance go just wide.
But then Toronto started to push, and this happened:
The official behind the net immediately signaled no-goal, but then officials conferred for a lengthy video review,
What were they looking at, exactly? The entire review centered around whether Marc Johnstone at the net-front punched in the shot from Michael Pezzetta. If Johnstone punched it, it's no goal. Can't do that. But if he didn't, it's Pezzetta's goal and it counts.
Look at that second angle in the video. Johnstone didn't punch it in. Murashov jumped way into the air and deflected it in himself off his blocker.
Is there an argument for goaltender interference? Maybe? But AHL video review is limited, and the only goals allowed to be reviewed are for high-sticks, kicks, or pucks batted in with the glove like they were looking at here. Once the review became about Johnstone's glove, anything else was irrelevant.
It's not clear what angles Kirk MacDonald had seen by the time he met with reporters afterward. They didn't show any replays on the videoboard here in-house, and that behind-the-net feed wasn't shown in-game on the team's broadcast. After seeing that view behind the net, it sure looks like Johnstone didn't touch it. Regardless, MacDonald stuck up for his goalie.
"Didn't agree with it, but doesn't matter," he said. "Can't change it. So just got to move on."
He confirmed that the explanation he was given was that the puck went off of Murashov's blocker and in. Even though goaltender interference isn't reviewable, I asked MacDonald if he thought Murashov was also interfered with there.
"I mean, doesn't matter what I think," he said. "I'm not the ref."
It's hard to say what Murashov thinks, either. He wasn't made available to speak afterward. The front office in Pittsburgh has a directive here that Murashov isn't allowed to talk on non-game days, so he can focus on locking in for the playoffs. Not unheard of for a team to do for a guy at this level, but still a little odd. He has often spoken in postgames, but not this one.
Murashov was clearly upset. As soon as the referee signaled a good goal, Murashov made a beeline from his crease and was down the tunnel across the ice in seconds, while his teammates all stayed on the ice longer to try to figure out what just happened, perhaps in hopes that there was still some way that goal would be taken back.
Since Murashov wasn't able to speak for himself, I asked MacDonald what his view was of how Murashov is handling the disappointing loss to an otherwise great game in which he stopped 37 of 39 shots.
"Well, I don't go into the room after a loss," MacDonald told me. "I know Sergei is going to handle it like he always does, like a pro. He's a stud."
They better hope Murashov does handle it well, because they're going to need him as the series shifts to Toronto. Wilkes-Barre is the higher seed in this best-of-seven series, but the AHL follows a 2-3-2 format to minimize travel. The first two games were here in Wilkes-Barre, and the next three are in Toronto. Wilkes-Barre needs to win at least two of them to come back home for Game 6.
Wilkes-Barre played fine in Game 1. They played even better in Game 2, and might have been able to close it out if not for a fluky goal to end it. That gives them confidence that they'll be able to keep things alive in Toronto.
"This time of year, every game is going to be like this, right?" MacDonald said. "It's the four best teams. They played well, we played well. Whether we agree with it or not, it's a deflected goal, it's up in the air, it's crazy. Stuff happens, and we'll regroup. Sun's gonna come up tomorrow. We'll get on the road and get to Toronto tomorrow and get back to work. I have the utmost confidence in the guys. They're committed, they're working, we'll be ready to go Monday night."
THE ASYLUM
Wilkes-Barre looks to bounce back after OT controversy
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Toronto Marlies ended in controversy over an odd goal that gave the Marlies a 2-1 overtime win.
The Penguins had been playing well throughout this game. Sergei Murashov was outstanding. After an insane Alex Nylander power-play shot in the first period gave Toronto the game's first lead, Tanner Howe tied the game by going to the net and putting in a rebound in the third period, ultimately forcing overtime.
After heavily outshooting Toronto in Game 1 but failing to get too many quality shots by playing perimeter hockey and not going to the net-front, the Penguins' play here was a massive upgrade. They were getting good chances. They were making Toronto goaltender Artur Akhtyamov's job hard.
That continued early into overtime. Six minutes into the extra frame, and the Penguins were outshooting Toronto 7-1. Ville Koivunen was inches away from scoring off a redirect. Rafael Harvey-Pinard had a prime chance go just wide.
But then Toronto started to push, and this happened:
The official behind the net immediately signaled no-goal, but then officials conferred for a lengthy video review,
What were they looking at, exactly? The entire review centered around whether Marc Johnstone at the net-front punched in the shot from Michael Pezzetta. If Johnstone punched it, it's no goal. Can't do that. But if he didn't, it's Pezzetta's goal and it counts.
Look at that second angle in the video. Johnstone didn't punch it in. Murashov jumped way into the air and deflected it in himself off his blocker.
Is there an argument for goaltender interference? Maybe? But AHL video review is limited, and the only goals allowed to be reviewed are for high-sticks, kicks, or pucks batted in with the glove like they were looking at here. Once the review became about Johnstone's glove, anything else was irrelevant.
It's not clear what angles Kirk MacDonald had seen by the time he met with reporters afterward. They didn't show any replays on the videoboard here in-house, and that behind-the-net feed wasn't shown in-game on the team's broadcast. After seeing that view behind the net, it sure looks like Johnstone didn't touch it. Regardless, MacDonald stuck up for his goalie.
"Didn't agree with it, but doesn't matter," he said. "Can't change it. So just got to move on."
He confirmed that the explanation he was given was that the puck went off of Murashov's blocker and in. Even though goaltender interference isn't reviewable, I asked MacDonald if he thought Murashov was also interfered with there.
"I mean, doesn't matter what I think," he said. "I'm not the ref."
It's hard to say what Murashov thinks, either. He wasn't made available to speak afterward. The front office in Pittsburgh has a directive here that Murashov isn't allowed to talk on non-game days, so he can focus on locking in for the playoffs. Not unheard of for a team to do for a guy at this level, but still a little odd. He has often spoken in postgames, but not this one.
Murashov was clearly upset. As soon as the referee signaled a good goal, Murashov made a beeline from his crease and was down the tunnel across the ice in seconds, while his teammates all stayed on the ice longer to try to figure out what just happened, perhaps in hopes that there was still some way that goal would be taken back.
Since Murashov wasn't able to speak for himself, I asked MacDonald what his view was of how Murashov is handling the disappointing loss to an otherwise great game in which he stopped 37 of 39 shots.
"Well, I don't go into the room after a loss," MacDonald told me. "I know Sergei is going to handle it like he always does, like a pro. He's a stud."
They better hope Murashov does handle it well, because they're going to need him as the series shifts to Toronto. Wilkes-Barre is the higher seed in this best-of-seven series, but the AHL follows a 2-3-2 format to minimize travel. The first two games were here in Wilkes-Barre, and the next three are in Toronto. Wilkes-Barre needs to win at least two of them to come back home for Game 6.
Wilkes-Barre played fine in Game 1. They played even better in Game 2, and might have been able to close it out if not for a fluky goal to end it. That gives them confidence that they'll be able to keep things alive in Toronto.
"This time of year, every game is going to be like this, right?" MacDonald said. "It's the four best teams. They played well, we played well. Whether we agree with it or not, it's a deflected goal, it's up in the air, it's crazy. Stuff happens, and we'll regroup. Sun's gonna come up tomorrow. We'll get on the road and get to Toronto tomorrow and get back to work. I have the utmost confidence in the guys. They're committed, they're working, we'll be ready to go Monday night."
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