DALLAS – Alexander Petrovic finally broke his nine-year playoff goal drought, giving the Dallas Stars a crucial lead in their second-round Western Conference series against the Winnipeg Jets. After a thorough video replay check, it was determined that the puck which deflected off Petrovic’s skate was legitimately counted as a goal, much to the relief of the Stars and their fans.
“The officials made me a bit anxious, but we were reassured by the visuals,” Petrovic commented on the lengthy review process. The Jets, the top-seeded team, found themselves trailing 2-1 in the series following this contentious decision, ending the game with a disappointing 5-2 loss on Sunday.
The NHL’s situation room conducted an exhaustive review, lasting several minutes, to evaluate if Petrovic had illegally kicked the puck into the net. Ultimately, the ruling sided with the referee’s on-ice decision, concluding that it was actually Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck who unintentionally pushed the puck in.
“We inquired about the possible kicking action. There was some deflection, but the refs concluded he accidentally played it into his own net,” remarked Kyle Connor, a goal scorer for the Jets. Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer expressed satisfaction with the officials’ thorough approach, noting that the ruling indicated Hellebuyck was attempting to manipulate the puck.
On the flip side, Winnipeg’s coach Scott Arniel found the decision questionable. “The regulation states that a puck kicked and subsequently redirected by any player or stick, aside from the goaltender, results in a legitimate goal. Since it hit our goalie’s stick before going in, I see it as no goal. The word ‘propelled’ isn’t something the rulebook mentions,” Arniel pointed out.
The play that lifted Dallas to victory stemmed from Mikko Rantanen’s initial strike, which bounced off Hellebuyck, hit Petrovic’s skate, and then headed back into the net. “I noticed what looked like a kick but hadn’t reviewed the replay. It felt like a toss-up, but fortunately, the goal stood,” Rantanen, also a scorer and assistant, shared.
Hellebuyck, meanwhile, tumbled while trying to halt the shot that seemed to graze his net protector. “It was just a rebound that hit my skate. That’s what we’d call a fortunate goal,” stated Petrovic. He previously netted a playoff goal in 2016 with Florida, and this came as his second after a lengthy gap.
With only six regular season appearances recently, the 33-year-old defenseman has participated in 16 playoff games for Dallas over two seasons. Rantanen quickly netted his crucial goal less than a minute after the game recommenced post-review. However, the Jets dismissed the bizarre sequence and extensive review as explanations for the defeat.
“Yeah, they gained a bit of an upswing from that goal, but we still had just a one-goal deficit,” explained Jets center Morgan Barron. “Given the circumstances, we need to improve our response and resistance.”