In Los Angeles on Tuesday night, the New York Islanders experienced a stroke of bad luck during their game against the Los Angeles Kings. The team saw two of their goals overturned on coaches’ challenges, both due to calls of goaltender interference that occurred in the second period.
The first incident came when Anthony Duclair seemed to level the score midway through the second period. However, Kings coach Jim Hiller and his staff promptly challenged the goal, leading to a successful overturn by the NHL’s situation room. The decision was based on findings that Simon Holmstrom had interfered with Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, affecting his ability to defend his post effectively. This nullified what would have been an equalizer, occurring only 80 seconds after Phillip Danault put the Kings ahead 2-1.
Islanders’ captain Anders Lee had initially brought his team onto the scoreboard. He appeared to have scored again with the Islanders operating a power play, only to see that effort disallowed as well. The officials concluded that Lee had obstructed Kuemper’s ability to keep his position and make a save with two minutes and five seconds remaining in the second period.
In another match of the evening, the neighboring New York Rangers found themselves in a comparable situation. They were the beneficiaries of a successfully challenged interference call during their game against the Winnipeg Jets. Nevertheless, despite the call working in their favor, the Rangers still faced a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Jets.
