CALGARY — Ryan Huska was hot.
You can bet Dan Vladar was even hotter, so he took a cold shower before talking to the media.
The Calgary Flames felt they had just been victimized by a controversial decision by the NHL’s Situation Room on Thursday night that allowed a contentious overtime goal by St. Louis to stand.
On his knees after making a pad save on a Rob Thomas chance, Vladar’s outstretched leg was stabbed into the net by Colton Parayko’s stick as he outmuscled Yegor Sharangovich to whack in a rebound sitting mere inches from the goal line.
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A lengthy review, initiated by Toronto’s war room, determined, “no goaltender interference occurred as (Parayko) made a play on a loose puck in the crease prior to his goal.”
In accordance with rule 69.7, “in a rebound situation, or where a goalkeeper and attacking player(s) are simultaneously attempting to play a loose puck, whether inside or outside the crease, incidental contact will be permitted, and any goal that is scored as a result thereof will be allowed.”
In a post-game interview with Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie, Parayko sure didn’t seem convinced one way or another if the goal should’ve counted.
“At game speed I saw the puck loose and tried to get my stick on it and get the puck in the net,” said Parayko, scoring the decisive goal in a 4-3 win one day after being named to Team Canada.
“I honestly don’t know at the time if I hit him in the pad or whatever.
“Me just driving the net, trying to get the puck.
“I hope I touched the puck. Well, I don’t know, but it ended up working out.”
That’s twice in a little over a week the Flames left feeling jobbed in overtime, dating back to a costly penalty in Detroit last Wednesday when the team felt a too many men penalty was called late and largely because of a loud response from the Wings’ bench.
“It’s frustrating to be quite honest with you,” said typically mild-mannered Huska, who was clearly chapped.
“If you’re going to call it that way, it’s fine, but the referees can come over and explain it.
“They just skate themselves right off the ice.
“That, to me, is the part that bothers me a little bit as to why — why was it a good goal?
“The way I see, Danny made a save and he would have kept it out if his pad wasn’t pushed in.”
Many others wearing Flames jerseys at the Dome saw it the same way, prompting significant booing after the official announced it was a “good goal.”
As the refs skated off, a fuming Vladar passed them with some thoughts he didn’t care to share with the media.
“I don’t want to talk about it, obviously emotions get into play, but nothing disrespectful for sure,” he said, clearly schooled by Flames staffers not to say anything he’d regret in the morning.
“I just saw it at the Jumbotron, so I’ve got to take a look at it again, and then talk to Chipsy (video coach Jamie Pringle). He is, in my opinion, the best in the league at it, so whatever he says I believe it. Obviously I respect the call and it is what it is.”
Did he feel the stick on his pad, pushing it into the net?
“I mean, I just felt I had to make one extra save than (Jordan) Binnington and I didn’t, so they got the win,” he said, diplomatically.
“I think we deserved to win today. The guys played a really good game in front of me. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”
While no one is bound to make a mountain out of molehill on the league’s decision, you can bet half of those watching thought it was interference. The other half will cite the league rule and suggest that if incidental contact is allowed in that case, the goal deserved to stand.
A mere 27 games into a long season, it’s not worth losing sleep over.
The Flames fought back from a 2-0 first period deficit to snag a point in a game they outshot the Blues 39-24.
Wrangler’s call-up Jakob Pelletier’s first NHL goal since last March kickstarted the comeback with an emotional celly that said plenty about how tough things have been for him since being exposed on waivers to open the season.
A Matt Coronato snipe on the power play tied things up early in the second before Pavel Buchnevich and MacKenzie Weegar traded third period goals.
The Flames were the better team, but a Binnington performance Canadian hockey fans hope to see in February, combined with yet another failed evening by the penalty kill, played into the Flames’ first home loss in seven outings.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect us because I believe we played a great five-on-five game,” said Weegar, whose club gave up a Zack Bolduc power play goal to open the night.
“I don’t think the puck goes in unless (Parayko) pushes the pad. I thought it was pretty clear. That’s really all I’ve got to say about that. We move on — we got three out of four (points) during our little homestand, and our big focus is getting on the road here and getting some wins.”
Only Nashville has fewer wins than the three the Flames have picked up on the road in 13 outings, making stops in Dallas and Nashville big tests.
