It came less than three minutes into the 3rd period; a deflected Brayden McNabb pass was corraled by Tomas Hertl at the blue line. He was able to find Brent Burns who threw a hard centering pass that found Logan Couture. Couture one-timed it into the back of the net. Goal, Sharks. Their fourth straight in the game which gave them their first lead, 5-4.
But wait…
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL Hockey Operations staff, the Referee determined that Donskoi prevented Subban from doing his job in his crease. -NHL Situation Room
What happened? Joonas Donskoi skated through the crease and made skate-to-skate contact as well as ran into the stick of goalie Malcolm Subban.
What really happened? Tommy Cruz.
The video coach Tommy Cruz looks at it. First, he checks for offsides then once he knows it’s an onside play then he is looking if a goal was scored, then he is looking for different options. I think one of the guys came back and said that he was twisting his stick and Tommy told Mike Kelly in the head set that it might be a challenge. We looked at it on the bench and saw it, then we all agreed to challenge it. Tommy Cruz picks it up and he has done a good job for us. -Gerard Gallant
After a goal is scored, Cruz has about 30 seconds to make a decision on whether or not to instruct Gallant to challenge the play. It’s a tough job and one that’s only done well by those with… the need for speed.
