In a battle of the two last-place teams in each conference on Wednesday, Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson believes his team was on the receiving end of a poor call.
With his team trailing 2-0 in the first period against the Calgary Flames, Thompson positioned himself in front of Flames netminder Devin Cooley, allowing Rasmus Dahlin to wire one home from the slot.
But after the Flames took a timeout, they challenged for goaltender interference.
After video review, the league determined that Thompson “impaired Cooley’s ability to play his position in the crease” prior to the goal, and the call on the ice was overturned.
The call was made in accordance with Rule 69.1, which states: “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.”
Thompson didn’t mince words when asked about the decision after the game.
“I thought that was a horrible call,” Thompson said to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. “It’s called a goal on the ice. And I think there’s minimal contact there, if any. And then I think he squared to the shot for a good 2-3 seconds, and (Dahlin’s) shot goes bar down. So it’s not like it’s into the middle of the net where he can’t react to make a save.”
Thompson went on to score one of the Sabres’ two goals in the second period to tie the game 2-2. But the Flames exploded for a four-goal third to win the game 6-2.
The loss drops the Sabres to an Eastern Conference-worst 7-9-4.
