Goalie interference back in spotlight as NHL playoff races and emotions about it heat up

Earlier during what is likely to be his third Vezina Trophy-winning season, Connor Hellebuyck pretty much gave up trying to figure out exactly what constitutes goaltender interference.

Winnipeg's star goaltender has served on competition committees. He has given spiels and offered clips as exhibits to explain what should or should not be called. Still, he has remained baffled by what is and what isn't interference — and he is not alone.

“I've really tried my best to help over the last four or five years,” Hellebuyck said after a goaltender interference challenge went against him and the Jets in a fall win. “I’ve tried to help. I’ve tried to make it more black and white.”

Just because your favorite NHL goaltender gets bumped, nudged, pushed, crashed into, goes down with injury or even loses their helmet when a goal is scored doesn't mean it necessarily will be goaltender interference. Or sometimes it will be and not count after video review, like the New York Islanders having a potential game-winning goal against Columbus disallowed Monday night, much to coach and Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy's dismay.

Goalie interference was a prime topic at the general managers' spring meeting last week, with agreement on situation room decisions in 52 of the 54 video clips shown and plenty of what senior executive VP of hockey operations Colin Campbell called “colorful discussions.” Commissioner Gary Bettman said finding a consensus constituted a vote of confidence on behalf of GMs.

"All the debates about consistency and not understanding, the managers understand fully well," Bettman said. “There was only one that was unanimous, which tells you that it is a judgment call and there’s going to be lots of opinions.”

What is goalie interference?

“I know what I think it is,” Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood said of interference. “But I don’t know that’s what it actually is.”

Director of officiating Stephen Walkom and other executives have told teams to be sure they have video evidence to overturn a call on the ice before making a coach's challenge. Losing a challenge is a minor penalty.

“These aren’t black and white,” VP of hockey operations Kris King said. “There’s a lot of judgment, not only from the guy calling it in real time but also from us, as well, when we’re looking at these plays.”

It is spelled out under section 69.1 in the NHL rulebook: “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease.”

Then there is this clause: “Incidental contact with a goalkeeper will be permitted, and resulting goals allowed, when such contact is initiated outside of the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”

That has opened the door to all sorts of interpretation. NHL senior director of hockey ops Kay Whitmore, a retired goalie like Roy, called it “a convoluted rule.” 

Through the first 1,048 games this season, there were 105 coach's challenges for goalie interference, with the call being upheld 45 times and overturned 60. Last season, there were 88, with 40 upheld and 48 overturned, up from 85 in 2022-23 with 43 upheld and 42 overturned.

“Any time you have a coach’s challenge, someone’s mad,” Campbell said. “We’ll get a manager saying or a coach, ‘Well, I saw that play three weeks ago in a Winnipeg-Edmonton game, it’s the same thing tonight.’ We say: ’No, they’re all snowflakes. They’re similar but not exactly the same.'"

Sorting through the confusion

There’s enough gray area in the interpretation of the rule that Florida coach Paul Maurice has a checklist he goes through prior to a challenge. First, he quickly consults with goaltender coach Rob Tallas, who looks at the play from a goalie’s point of view. Then, the video team gets involved — is there indisputable evidence? All those factors combine with this — a gut feeling. 

“Do I think that’s goal interference?” Maurice said.

All of this is supposed to take place within about 30 seconds before the game moves on. And the process goes out the window if Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is “sour” — Maurice's word — about a play.

“I’m probably calling it regardless of whether I think he’s right or wrong,” Maurice said.

Unless, of course, it’s the postseason.

“When you get into the playoffs, that’s not true. I’ll look at it and think, ‘Am I getting this call, or am I not?’" Maurice explained. “Then I’ll make that decision.”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was incensed earlier this season over a collision in a game against Buffalo. Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood was hurt and down on the ice after Sabres forward Zach Benson crashed into Avalanche center Parker Kelly and fell into Wedgewood’s right leg.

Benson got up, gained possession of the puck and scored with Wedgewood still down and inside the goal. Bednar didn’t like the lag time with his goalie down and challenged for goaltender interference. It was purely out of spite.

“It gives them another chance to do the right thing,” Bednar said. “The goal shouldn’t have counted, and so, yeah, I was mad. So we just did it.”

Bednar talked to the league the next day. They understood the other's point of view, even if they did still disagree.

“There’s lots of things that we look for,” Bednar said. “Does he go in on his own, does he get pushed in? Does the goalie have time to get reset? You've always got to look at the blue paint, too. There’s a bunch of things.”

The league's criteria involves whether contact was intentional or incidental, occurred in or out of the crease, if the defending player caused it and whether the goaltender had a chance to reset. 

“It’s pretty complex,” Walkom said, confident the standard has been communicated to teams. “We’re not far off. Maybe originally when we started, there was some differences of opinion, but there really isn’t now.”

Technically, nachos on the ice aren't included in the rules provisions for goaltender interference. A tray of nachos was tossed onto the ice from the stands in the middle of the play in Edmonton. Corey Perry weaved past the container and scored as Capitals goalie Logan Thompson pointed out the food to officials.

“That’s a first,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery told reporters. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen nachos on the ice in a National Hockey League game."

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Graham reported from Denver and Whyno from Manalapan, Florida. AP freelance writer Scott Charles in New York contributed to this report.

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