It didn't take long for the Golden Knights and Jets to stir up some goaltender interference debate in the Western Conference finals.
Less than eight minutes into Game 1, Jets defenseman Ben Chariot played a spinning backhand pass towards Joel Armia, who cut in front of Ryan Carpenter to redirect the puck past Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with his skate, bumping into Fleury in the process.
The referees initially waved off the goal, not for a potential kick, but because Armia was ruled to interfere with Fleury as he lunged through the crease.
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Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice disagreed with the decision and decided to challenge the call on the ice.
After a lengthy video review, the officials ruled that Armia made contact with Fleury, but only after he had already redirected the puck into the net. Therefore, the goal was awarded as Armia did not inhibit Fleury's ability to make the save.
Here is the official explanation of the play from the NHL:
At 7:35 of the first period in the Golden Knights/Jets game, video review determined that the puck deflected off of Joel Armia's skate and entered the Vegas net in a legal fashion. According to Rule 49.2 "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal." However, the Referee informed the Situation Room that he had "no goal" due to goaltender interference on the play. Winnipeg then requested a Coach's Challenge to review the "Interference on the Goalkeeper" decision that resulted in a "no goal" call.
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Referee, the Situation Room determined that the contact between Winnipeg's Joel Armia and Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury occurred after the puck was deflected into the net and, therefore, no goaltender interference infractions occurred.
After the game, Vegas coach Gerard Gallant seemed disappointed that the media didn't press him for his thoughts on the situation.
Gerard Gallant steps off podium saying: “No one’s going to ask me about the goal?” Mic drop.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 13, 2018
Armia's goal turned out to be the game-winner as the Jets beat the Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 1 Saturday night.