January 3, 2012
NHL Winter Classic 2012: Lundqvist, Tortorella Talk Penalty Shot and Referees
PHILADELPHIA: With 20 seconds remaining in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, the Philadelphia Flyers swarmed the New York Rangers’ net. With the puck slipping behind Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and looking like it would trickle over the goal line for the game-tying goal, the Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh slid across the crease and was called for closing his hand over the puck.
The call resulted in a penalty shot for the Flyers.
Philadelphia had their goalie pulled at the time of the penalty, and of the six skaters on the ice, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette elected to have Danny Briere take the penalty shot. Briere skated in and looked to go five-hole on the Rangers netminder, but Lundqvist closed the door, keeping the Rangers’ 3-2 lead intact.
Following the game, Lundqvist spoke to the media, including Bleacher Report, about the play that led to Briere’s failed penalty shot:
Yeah, you know what, it was just a big scramble in the end. They tried to get pucks in front, and I didn’t really see the puck. I just stretch out my right leg and tried to stay on the post there. Then I hear the whistle, and I couldn’t believe it.
Another person who couldn’t believe it was Rangers head coach John Tortorella, who had his own opinion on the call:
I’m not sure if NBC got together with the refs or what to turn this into an overtime game. It started with the non-call on Gaby’s, and he gets pitchforked in the stomach and everything starts going against us. So, for two good refs, I thought the game was reffed horribly. So I’m not sure what happened there. Maybe they wanted to get into overtime. I’m not sure if they had meetings about that or what. But we stood in there. We stood in there. And again, I don’t want to, because they are good guys. I just thought tonight, it was—in that third period—it was disgusting.
Conspiracy theories aside, the Rangers held on, earning the win by a score of 3-2 and going up 3-0 in this year’s series with the Flyers.
The win moved them four points ahead of the Flyers in the Atlantic Division standings and three points ahead of the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference.
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
Related posts:
- 2012 NHL Winter Classic: Potential Rangers Winter Classic Jersey Pops Up on Web
- Winter Classic 2012: Henrik Lundqvist and Players Who WIll Steal Show
- NHL Winter Classic 2012: 4 Flyers That Need to Step It Up in 2012
- NHL Winter Classic 2012 Despite the Hype, Rangers’ Tortorella Remains Focused
- Winter Classic 2012: Henrik Lundqvist’s Brilliance Exposed to National Audience
