Berglund’s goal waved off for incidental contact (Video)
The St. Louis Blues thought they had struck first in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks.
Patrik Berglund corralled the puck in front of Sharks goalender Martin Jones and nudged it into the net midway through the first period.
Beglund celebrated and the crowd at Scottrade Center cheered, thinking their team was up 1-0. Referee Eric Furlatt then said it was not a goal because Berglund interfered with Jones. San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic defended on the play and made some contact with Berglund, but probably not enough to push Berglund that far into Jones.
St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock then challenged the play, saying it was a goal. The goal still did not count after a quick review by the official. Because of this decision, the Blues lost their timeout.
Here’s the explanation from the NHL on the call:
At 11:35 of the first period in the Sharks/Blues game, St. Louis requested a Coach’s Challenge to review the “Interference on the Goalkeeper” decision that resulted in a “no goal” call.
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL Hockey Operations staff, the Referee confirmed that St. Louis’Patrik Berglund made incidental contact with San Jose goaltender Martin Jones before the puck crossed the goal line, preventing Jones from doing his job in the crease.
Therefore the original call stands – no goal St. Louis Blues.
Less than four minutes later, the Blues got a power play goal by captain David Backes on a tip-in off a shot by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to make the game 1-0. Then 34 seconds later, Sharks forward Joe Pavelski scored a goal to tie the game at 1-1.
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