SEATTLE — Islanders coach Patrick Roy was left infuriated and incredulous by a failed challenge for goaltender interference on Jamie Oleksiak’s game-winning goal for the Kraken on Saturday afternoon.
Brandon Tanev was battling with Isaiah George in the crease and appeared to have contact with Isles netminder Ilya Sorokin when Oleksiak shot the puck.
The puck then trickled off Sorokin’s pad and in, giving Seattle a 3-2 lead with 3:13 to go in a game the Kraken went on to win by the same score.
Roy issued a full-on denunciation of the call afterward, interrupting a question about how he felt and saying, “That we got robbed? Yeah.”
The goaltender interference rule has been a lightning rod for controversy in the past, with inconsistent enforcement that will now again draw attention after Roy’s comments.
Roy said he was told that there wasn’t enough contact for it to be considered interference, which prompted open incredulity on his part.
“I guess tonight I don’t [understand the rule],” he said. “Because there’s enough and not enough. Somebody’s gonna have to explain to me what’s enough or not enough. You’re in the crease or you’re not in the crease by yourself. You bump into the goalie or you don’t bump into the goalie.
“First time I ever heard that. I guess I didn’t play enough games.”
Rule 69.1 states that “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease.”
Sorokin was openly confused by the rule, asking multiple reporters in the dressing room whether they thought it was interference.
Still, the goalie took the blame.
“I think it’s going to our player and changed angle,” he told The Post. “I think it’s my fault.”
His teammates shared his lack of understanding of the rule.
“I think it’s flipping a coin maybe sometimes,” Brock Nelson said. “But we thought it was interference. I think there was one the other night that looked like it was minimal contact that got overturned in another game. So at the time it felt like there was enough to challenge it given the situation.”
Alexander Romanov (upper body) remained out for Saturday’s game after being a full-contact participant in practice for the first time on Friday.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau played after missing Friday’s practice for maintenance.