BOSTON -- The Florida Panthers' 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference second-round series was aided by a controversial call that left the home team and its fans stunned.
The Panthers tied the score 2-2 at 3:41 of the third period when Sam Bennett pounced on a loose puck in the crease for a power-play goal. After looking at the replay, it was pretty obvious that Bennett cross-checked Bruins center Charlie Coyle in the back, thus sending him crashing into goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery challenged the play for goalie interference, and after a lengthy review, the call on the ice of a goal was upheld.
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"The fact is, Coyle was pushed into me and I couldn't play my position," Swayman said postgame. "I just want to stick to facts, and the fact is my own player was pushed into me by theirs, and I couldn't play my position."
Swayman reiterated three or four times that he couldn't play his position. The NHL, in its explanation of the review decision, concluded that Bennett's actions did not prevent Swayman from playing his position.
Here's the official explanation from the league:
Explanation: Video review supported the Referees’ call on the ice that that the shove by Florida’s Sam Bennett on Charlie Coyle and the subsequent contact with Jeremy Swayman did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease prior to Bennett’s goal.
You be the judge: Does it look like Swayman is able to play his position in this photo?
“The puck is in the crease. I’m trying to make a play,” Coyle said. “It goes through me. I feel a push from behind. I go down on Sway. The puck trickles past, right to their guy. Empty net. I figured I could probably turn around and make a play on it or clear it. That’s what happened. It’s a tough call. Sometimes you’ve got to play through things. Can’t make excuses.”
Not only did Bennett push Coyle into his own goalie, he also cross-checked him, which is a penalty itself. He got away with both, just like he got away with no fine or suspension for his questionable hit on Bruins captain Brad Marchand in Game 3.
"It's a huge swing," Coyle said of the review decision. "They score, tie it, and they get a power play out of it (due to the lost challenge). Those are the swings of the game. We saw something different. They saw something different. No other words for that. Whether we agree or not we have to play through it."
The officiating was quite bad in Game 4, and the outcome could easily have been different if the Bennett goal was disallowed.
But the Bruins also didn't generate enough offense. They have scored two or fewer goals in six of their last seven games, including Sunday night's loss. They tallied two shots on net in the third period of Game 4. The Bruins' lack of offense is the primary reason why they face a 3-1 series deficit.
