Losing to the Coyotes at home should have been bad enough for the Maple Leafs, but Monday night's defeat was highlighted by a controversial call in the final minute that went against Toronto, leading to the 4-2 loss.
With 39 seconds left and down 3-2, it appeared as though forward Alex Kerfoot had knocked in the equalizer for the Maple Leafs. He collected a rebound from a John Tavares shot and beat Karel Vejmelka, sending Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy.
However, the NHL's situation room called for a review, and after looking over the play again, the goal was called off as a result of a hand pass.
ALEXANDER KERFOOT 🚨
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 18, 2022
TIED WITH 39 SECONDS LEFT pic.twitter.com/UTbvFrpVqK
After review, the @MapleLeafs' equalizer has been overturned. pic.twitter.com/A7ltWMkzy9
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 18, 2022
Instead of tied 3-3, the Maple Leafs remained down by one, and an empty-net goal by Arizona sealed the second loss of the season for Toronto.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe did not push back specifically against the call, but did make a comment about the NHL reviews in general.
"It’s crazy that we’re talking about such specific things on these reviews," Keefe said about the disallowed goal.
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Had Kerfoot's goal counted, it could have salvaged what was a poor showing by the Maple Leafs, who fell behind 2-0 after two periods before rallying in the third period. Their own fans booed them off the ice after the second period. Instead, the Maple Leafs had their hopes of a victory yanked away and dropped to 2-2-0 this year.
Why was Alexander Kerfoot's goal disallowed vs. Coyotes?
Kerfoot's late goal was called off by the league due to a hand pass. There was a play at the blue line right before the goal that initially went uncalled, but after a review, the goal was called back.
Before then, Morgan Rielly had played the puck with his hand, and then the next person to possess the puck was Mitch Marner. Since this play took place in the offensive zone for Toronto, it is not allowed and play should have been stopped as it was in violation of the hand pass rule.
The officials originally did not call it on the ice, but the situation room picked up on the potential missed call and invoked a review. It was determined that the Maple Leafs made a hand pass in the offensive zone, which is not allowed.
Here is the league's full statement on why the goal was disallowed:
Situation Room explanation on disallowed TOR goal in last minute: pic.twitter.com/gIdXeG1Jkk
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 18, 2022
What is the NHL's hand pass rule?
In hockey, players aren't supposed to use their hands to touch the puck. There are rules in the game that discuss the proper way to handle a puck with your hands.
This is what Rule 67.1 says in the NHL rulebook:
A player shall be permitted to stop or “bat” a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the Referee, he has deliberately directed the puck to a teammate in any zone other than the defending zone, in which case the play shall be stopped and a face-off conducted (see Rule 79 – Hand Pass). Play will not be stopped for any hand pass by players in their own defending zone.
In the case of the Maple Leafs game, since Rielly was in the offensive zone and played the puck with his hand, either he or a Coyotes player had to be the next player to possess the puck. Since it ended up being Marner who got the puck, play should have been blown dead and a hand pass call should have been assessed.
