“All good things must come to an end.”
When the first person said that, they likely were not thinking of Clayton Keller’s point streak with the Coyotes. Cursory research suggests that the proverb dates back to the 1300s, long before hockey, Mullett Arena, or Clayton Keller, but it still applies.
Clayton Keller went into last night’s game riding a 14-game point streak, an Arizona Coyotes record. And for a brief moment, it looked like it would continue when Barrett Hayton muscled the puck past Kaapo Kahkonen, a play that would have seen Keller get another point and his 83rd point of the season.
Unfortunately, the Sharks would challenge the goal, claiming goaltender interference, and it didn’t take long for the announcement, no goal.
Referee Graham Skilliter would make the call, which was unusual. His exact words were, “following the Coach’s Challenge the puck was frozen this was goaltender interference no goal.”
Goaltender interference is one of hockey’s most hotly debated phrases behind “distinct kicking motion.” There are instances where it is clear one way or the other but far more where it is a bit nebulous. Watching the game in real time, it wouldn’t have surprised me if it was called off, but why does it matter that the puck was frozen?
Coach’s challenges are under Rule 38 in the Official NHL Rules 2022-23, and the section starts with the following:
“The video review mechanism triggered by the Coach’s Challenge can only be utilized in GOAL/NO GOAL situations and is intended to be extremely narrow in scope.”
There are three situations that are subject to the Coach’s Challenge a) “Off-Side” Play Leading to a Goal, b) Missed Game Stoppage Event in the Offensive Zone Leading to a Goal, and c) Scoring Plays Involving Potential “Interference on the Goalkeeper.”
We can rule out a) right away, the play was not off-side.
Skilliter mentioning the puck being frozen at first suggests b) Missed Game Stoppage Event in the Offensive Zone Leading to a Goal, but that is incorrect. The rule specifies that the play occurring in the offensive zone that should have resulted in a play stoppage must have been caused by the attacking team, but freezing the puck is caused by the defending team.
Situation c) is where things start to get more complicated and where we need to look further into goaltender interference, and as per the outlined situation, we will be looking at Rules 69.1, 69.3, and 69.4.
Rule 69.4 deals with contact outside of the crease, so it can be eliminated from our considerations. Both Rules 69.1 and 69.3 do not have anything to do with a frozen puck, but they reference Rule 69.7, which could.
Rule 69.7 deals explicitly with situations involving rebounds and loose pucks, the best description of the play. Firstly, it notes that incidental contact with the goaltender will be permitted, and goals can be scored as a result.
But, there is an important caveat, which seems to be at the root of this issue, “[i]n the event that the puck is under a player in or around the crease area (deliberately or otherwise), a goal cannot be scored by pushing this player together with the puck into the goal.”
So, were Kahkonen and the puck pushed into the net together? No, Kahkonen clearly stays out of the net, and the puck goes in on its own. Given that we are supposed to interpret this narrowly, it makes sense to have a strict reading, especially regarding the word “together”.
Is it possible that the puck being frozen had nothing to do with the call, that it was an unnecessary addition by Skilliter, and they did determine that Hayton interfered with Kahkonen? Sure, as I stated, goaltender interference is difficult to access, and watching the game live, I would not have been surprised by the call. But that is what was said, and going by the rules, it is difficult to determine why this goal was called off.
The NHL will sometimes explain Coach’s Challenges, including one last night for the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche game.
Explanation of Coach's Challenge at 9:09 of the third period in the @DallasStars / @Avalanche game. https://t.co/w5lM1lKxCi
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 2, 2023
They haven’t for the Coyotes and Sharks game at the time of writing, so we may get a full explanation of the call. Unfortunately, without a conclusive statement, it does seem like they may have gotten this call wrong, Hayton should have gotten the goal, and Keller’s point streak should have continued. It probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but seeing a point-streak end on a controversial note is a shame.