The Washington Capitals lost in overtime to the New York Rangers on Friday, although there was a controversial moment in the second period, when it appeared the Capitals had taken the lead.
Instead, after contact between Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Capitals forward Joel Ward and Rangers forward Derek Stepan, the goal was immediately waved off and the game remained scoreless going into the third period.
Here’s an explanation from series officiating manager Rob Shick, via a pool reporter:
“The goaltender wasn’t allowed to play his position in the crease. Incidental contact [by Ward]. I support the call. Results in no goal, no penalty.”
A pivotal moment in the game, the Capitals disagreed with the call but seemed to have let it go.
“We felt obviously he was pushed in,” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, as per the Washington Post. “But they made the call and that was it. We just deal with it and move on.”
Trotz: "On that one, I felt two things: Lundqvist came outside the blue and engaged a little bit of contact and then Ward was pushed in,."
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 9, 2015