Controversy makes sports fun, right?
There was no shortage of controversy in the Utah Mammoth’s 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, as video review called two goals off the board.
Regardless, the Mammoth walked away with a point in the game, propelling them back in third place in the Central Division standings.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game and the calls.
Quick catchup
New York Islanders: 3
Utah Mammoth: 2
In Emil Heineman’s first NHL visit to Utah, he got hit by a car. On his second trip, precisely 10 months later, he scored the game-opening goal.
It appeared as though Nick Schmaltz had tied it up shortly thereafter, until the officials determined that the puck never actually went in the net — it just hit the crossbar.
The Mammoth tied the game for real on a beautiful cross-slot pass from Lawson Crouse to JJ Peterka, and then they took the lead with Dylan Guenther’s signature one-timer on a 5-on-3 power play.
A less energetic second period yielded no goals for either team, but as the end of the third period drew nigh, the real controversial goal happened. More on that later.
Overtime was necessary, and the Islanders dominated in that area. The Mammoth hardly touched the puck the entire time, which eventually allowed 18-year-old rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer to score his seventh goal and 15th point through 18 games.
“He looks good,” said Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt of Schaefer. “He’s going to be a good player in this league for a long time.”
Takeaways
New third line still rolling
It only took the Peterka-McBain-Crouse line 3:22 to score twice on Wednesday. They continued their success on Friday, scoring in the opening frame to give them three goals in their first two periods.
“I feel like JJ has jumped into our line perfectly,” Lawson Crouse said. “With myself, (Jack McBain) and (Michael Carcone), we kind of created an identity we wanted to play, and JJ’s complimenting that right now.”
Crouse said the system is to get the puck in deep and then go get it back. He and McBain, who are both 6-foot-4 and in the neighborhood of 220 pounds, are built for playing in the corners.
Peterka, who’s smaller but quicker and more of a proven goal scorer, just has to get open.
“He’s doing a great job and obviously reaping some rewards and getting some goals here, so it’s been great,” Crouse said of Peterka.
Penalty kill thriving, power play dwindling
Yes, the Mammoth scored a power play goal on Friday, but they were still only one for six on the night, and the lone power play goal came with a two-man advantage.
Given that they had nearly two full minutes of 5-on-3 time, the odds of them not scoring were slim. Their problem, at least in this game, came from predictability. The bulk of the Mammoth’s power play goals come from the same three plays:
- Dylan Guenther’s one-timer from the left circle.
- Clayton Keller’s one-timer from the right circle.
- Nick Schmaltz’s quick shot from the bumper position.
All the Islanders had to do was keep a man on each of those players. The Mammoth could seldom string together more than two or three passes before they were disrupted by the Islanders’ penalty killers.
On the other hand, the penalty kill has been perfect for eight straight games — and three of those opponents are among the league’s top 10 power play teams as of Friday night.
Was it kicking motion?
Some Mammoth fans left this one feeling cheated.
With 6:16 left in the third period, Jonathan Drouin put the puck in the net by kicking it. That’s typically not allowed.
In this instance, however, it went off Schmidt’s stick on its way in, which was the basis for the officials’ ruling of “good goal.”
“After looking at all available replays, video review determined that Nate Schmidt‘s stick propelled the puck into his own net,” the NHL public relations department said in a statement after the game.
But the NHL rule book has a higher standard than that:
“A goal cannot be scored on a play where an attacking player propels the puck with his skate into the net — even by means of a subsequent deflection off of another player — using a ‘distinct kicking motion.’"
It can’t have simply deflected off the defending player — the defending player has to have actually propelled it in. Schmidt did make intentional contact with it, but his stick was going the opposite direction of the puck, so it’s hard to say he propelled it in.
When asked what he thought of the ruling, Schmidt chose his words carefully.
“I won’t put my stick there again,” he said.
Mammoth head coach André Tourigny agreed with the call, though his stated reasoning did not align with the NHL rule book.
Regardless of the ruling, the Mammoth could have controlled the situation by taking advantage of more of their scoring chances. Had they had a larger lead, the officials’ ruling would not have affected the outcome of the game.
Goal of the game
Crouse to Peterka
Islanders goalie David Rittich (“Big Save Dave” as he was once known) didn’t stand a chance on this one. What a pass by Crouse, who is having a bounce-back year.