The Rangers got hosed, or so it seems, as a lengthy review of this sequence resulted in a “call on the ice stands” goal for Pittsburgh, giving them a 2-1 lead midway through the second period of Game 7:
NHL rules state that if a stick makes contact with a puck at or below the crossbar, it’s a valid goal, and while it looked like the hook of Jake Guentzel’s stick was above the bar (and thus an invalid goal), the call stood. The assist on that goal gave Sidney Crosby 201 career playoff points, tying ex-Ranger and Pen Jaromir Jagr for fifth all time – and NHL Twitter was all over the disputed goal, and the fact that the Blueshirts have been on the business end of quite a few questionable calls this series:
Fans at MSG began chanting “A-hole” and “These refs suck!” after the goal, but all’s well that ends well, as 65 seconds later, after a pair of great saves by Igor Shesterkin, K’Andre Miller knotted the game at 2-2 when his pass through the zone for Ryan Strome kicked off a skate and into the net.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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