I think it might take a couple of days for Dallas Stars fans to cool off after what happened last night in the final seconds of last night's game against the New York Islanders. Trust me when I say this: the Stars got absolutely robbed by the league last night. The Stars should have come away from last night with at least a point. However, since the league doesn't have a set guideline for goaltender interference, the NHL Replay Center is free to interpret it however they see fit.
You know the ruling was bad when Colorado Avalanche fans sided with the Stars' fanbase over the call last night. In fact, a majority of league fans were in support of the Stars on Twitter last night. Goaltender interference is a rule that needs to be fixed before it determines who wins a playoff series. Just imagine if this were a game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and goaltender interference was called on a potential game-tying goal. Twitter would have been in shambles this morning.
I'm not going to post the entire rule on goaltender interference in this article. If you are new to the sport and want to learn more about it, here's a good link to learn more about the ruling. In simple terms, goaltender interference is when the scoring team interferes with the opposing goaltender while he's making a save. Typically, that is waived off if the defending player knocks a player into their own goaltender. The exemption to goaltender interference is what happened to Robertson last night.
One thing the league and the owners need to do this offseason is fix the guidelines for goaltender interference. I feel like the rules are so loose right now that they're open to interpretation in the review room. One night, a video reviewer might deem a defending player shoving a player into their goaltender not goaltender interference, and the next night someone else might view it differently. The league needs to simplify the rules to expedite the review process.
After the game, the league published its official ruling on the overturned goal. The league review official in the review room determined that Jason Robertson impeded David Rittich's ability to save the puck. That is correct about Robertson impeding his ability to make the save, but the league omits that Ryan Pulock checked Robertson into their goaltender. Robertson would have been able to avoid Rittich if he hadn't been touched. I guess someone in the review room had a parlay to hit.
I'm going to wrap up this article before it makes more Star's fans boil. The league needs to fix this before it gets out of hand. On any given day, the rule can be interpreted differently. Making a set of criteria for what constitutes goaltender interference and what does not needs to be worked on and approved this upcoming offseason. The league is lucky this wasn't a game seven in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Just imagine how many fans would be at their headquarters if that happened?