What If The Purge, But For Goalie Interference

Every sport has its catch rule, a point of controversy with rules so vague or arcane or reliant on human judgment that fans, players, and even referees can have trouble defining it. In hockey these days, that’s goaltender interference, and the usual short-term solution is that we trust the officials to know it when they see it. Well, I saw two Bruins muscle Jake Allen out of the crease before David Krejci tapped home a goal that a review allowed to count, so I guess I don’t know anything anymore.

This was a big game, pitting two legit contenders. And it was a huge goal; Boston won 3-1 thanks to an empty-netter, making it functionally a one-goal game. And it blows to have a one-goal game decided with a goal like this:

Blues coach Mike Yeo gave repeated no-comments to questions about the no-call. But Allen, making his first start since Jan. 9, was impressively sanguine:

“I was almost in the corner, right? I think you guys got a pretty good look at it. Probably it should’ve been goalie interference. But it’s the way it is. You get some calls; some you don’t.

“It’s a tough area to call. It puts the refs in a tough spot. The game’s so fast. The game’s so quick. To be honest, they probably don’t have time to see everything on the ice either.

“I hope at some point during the year, it doesn’t blow a playoff or something like that. That’s the unfortunate part. It’s tough to comment on it to be honest.”

Allen said that his understanding was that officials didn’t believe he worked hard enough to get back into position on the play, which, c’mon.

Meanwhile, in Vegas’s 3-2 overtime win in Winnipeg, Erik Haula scored for the Golden Knights after James Neal broke his stick hitting goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s helmet. The Jets challenged, but again, the goal was called good.

It’s open season on goalies.