TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning After Wednesday’s Stanley Cup Final Game 4 defeat, coach Jon Cooper held an intense news conference during which he raised questions about the legality of the game. Colorado Avalanche Center Nazem KadriThe game-winning goal by’s in overtime.
Cooper spent a moment talking about his love for the NHL and his team’s journey to back Stanley Cup championships. He then focused his attention on Kadri’s overtime goal at 12:02, giving the Avalanche a three-point lead.
“This one is going sting more than others because it was taking on… it was potentially… It’s very difficult for me. It’s going be difficult for us to communicate. I will have to speak. He said, “I’ll talk with you tomorrow.” “You’ll understand what I mean when the winner goal is revealed to you. My heart breaks for the players. Because we should probably still be playing.
Cooper then excused himself from answering one question.
The Lightning believed that there were six Avalanche skaters on the ice at the time of the game’s end. Camera angles showed six Colorado skaters skating on the ice while Kadri received a pass and skated into the zone to beat the goalie. Andrei Vasilevskiy Thank you for the 3-2 victory.
It is a question of whether Nathan MacKinnon He was close enough to an Avalanche bench that he could be considered a “retired” player when his teammate jumped onto the ice and got involved in the play. Before a change can be made, skaters must stay within 5 feet of the bench.
NHL Hockey Operations stated in a statement that “a too many men on ice penalty” is a decision that can be made any of the four officials. Hockey Operations met with all four officials following the game as per their usual protocol. Each of the four officials stated that they didn’t see too many men on the play when discussing the winning goal.
Even if a goal is scored, infractions of too many men on ice are not subject to review.
Fueling conspiracy theories: The NHL distributed a scoresheet to the media listing six skaters for the Avalanche on Kadri’s game winner. They then modified that score sheet online to list five skaters.
The NHL stated that an additional player was needed, a defenseman Erik JohnsonBecause players jumped off the bench to celebrate Kadri’s goal to end the game, a possibility exists that he might have been on the initial scoresheet.
After the game, Kadri was unsure about Cooper’s gripe.
“I don’t know what he meant, and what he thought it should have been. Kadri, who was unable to play in the Western Conference finals due to thumb surgery, said that it kind of confuses him. “The puck hit at the back of the net. End of story. I don’t know why he would say this.”
Cooper began Cooper’s news conference by talking about his team’s quick start, before moving on to how difficult their championship run was. He also criticised the NHL’s salary cap system.
“I love this league. It’s the best league in the entire world. It’s run by amazing people. It is amazing. It’s like a fairy tale for me, especially since I was a Canadian kid growing it up and all the other things that have happened.” he said.
“You know, I’ve seen some heartbreaking defeats and losses to the teams that sent us out and been with a group of people who just fights, fights, and fights. They fought their way to the Stanley Cup final for the third time in succession. It’s a cap-era, when it’s so hard and the rules are against you because the league wants equality. This is what I love most about the league. It’s that part that makes it more difficult. You can see the struggle this team has gone through, and how they are fighting. We’re all in it together. Players, coaches, refs, everybody.”
Game 4 takes place in Denver on Friday night. Teams with a lead of 3-1 in best-of-7 have an all-time series record 298-31 (.906). This includes a clip of 2-1 (.667) in 2022, and a 35-1 mark (.972) in the Stanley Cup Final.