Bruins

Bruins were bracing for the worst during latest goalie interference review vs. Panthers

“I’m like, ‘This one has to go our way.' Just hoping."

By Conor Ryan

May 15, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• ...

SUNRISE, Fla. — Charlie McAvoy and the Bruins could only shake their heads as the referees huddled near the boards on Tuesday night.

For the second straight game, a momentum-shifting tally was going to video review, with goaltender interference assessed as the possible infraction. 

McAvoy’s wrist shot while charging down the slot sailed past Sergei Bobrovsky — but Paul Maurice and the Panthers contested that their goalie was impeded and unable to put himself in a position to stop that Grade-A look. 

Sounds familiar? 

“I’m like, this one has to go our way,” McAvoy said postgame of his mindset as referees Kyle Rehman and Steve Kozari put on their headsets and conferred with the NHL Situation Room in Toronto. 

“Oh, he was freaking out,” David Pastrnak added of McAvoy’s state while waiting for the final call in Boston’s eventual Game 5 win.

Despite goalie interference being clearly defined via Rule 69 in the league’s rulebook, the interpretation of the plays that lead to said call and assessing the ability of a goalie to get back into position remains a grey area for the NHL and its officials. 

The Bruins were on the wrong end of a challenge for goalie interference in Game 4, with the NHL situation room upholding a Sam Bennett power-play tally — even though he cross-checked Charlie Coyle into Jeremy Swayman before knocking home a loose puck in the crease. 

Given Boston’s lack of success when it comes to goalie interference in this series, Coyle and Trent Frederic assumed the worst as the minutes ticked away during Tuesday’s review.  

“I thought no way they were gonna call it a good goal,” Frederic acknowledged. “I didn’t see the replay. … . In my head, I was just like, even throughout the year — I feel like when you score, I feel like they call it back a lot. And I think, right now, it’s a coin flip.”

“Not good things,” Coyle added of his line of thinking when video reviews are brought up. “And honestly, you never know what’s going to happen and you just try to on the bench, say, ‘Hey whatever happens here — we’re coming back again, we’re doing it the right way.’ You can’t dwell on anything.”

This time, the Bruins caught a break, with McAvoy’s goal upheld in what ended up being the eventual game-winning tally. 

Upon video review, Danton Heinen appeared to make contact with Bobrovsky’s right skate while driving to the blue paint — with Bobrovsky also losing his stick amid the fracas down low. 

However, it looked as though Heinen made contact with plenty of time for Bobrovsky to square himself back up for McAvoy’s shot — while Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson might have been the one that dislodged Bobrovsky’s stick.

Regardless of how the NHL and their officials assessed the play, it resulted in the Bruins finally catching a break in this series. 

“Just hoping,” McAvoy said of the review. “On the play, when I collected the puck, I got my head up and he seemed square to me — that he was able to square up. It was just one-on-one. 

“It didn’t look like he was interfered with. I just kept thinking it was a fair play. It was one-on-one and he had a chance. Happy that one went our way. You just never know with these things. We needed that.”