RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A failed coach’s challenge by John Tortorella was a momentum-changing moment in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.
His Vegas Golden Knights appeared to score with five minutes left in regulation, but referee Jean Hebert waved it off immediately, citing goaltender interference. Hebert announced that he and the other on-ice officials thought Ivan Barbashev pushed Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen to knock the puck into the net.
Tortorella after some deliberation decided to challenge the play, and it did not take long for officials and the on-site NHL situation room to stick with the call on the ice of no goal. The Hurricanes scored on the ensuing power play 25 seconds later and went on to win 4-3 in overtime to tie the series.
“I saw a loose puck in front of Freddie," Tortorella said. "Our player stabbed it, didn’t move the goalie and it goes through him into the other side. I’d challenge it 10 out of 10 times.”
The next morning, he expressed no regrets.
“That’s been explained by the league, and I stand behind my decision," Tortorella said Friday.
It was purely a video review of goalie interference and had nothing to do with whether the whistle was blown before the puck crossed the goal line.
“The ruling on the play was goaltender interference,” Stephen Walkom, executive vice president and director of officiating, told a pool reporter. “He waved it (off) immediately. He believed that it was under the goalie, and the Vegas player went after the puck and interfered with the goalie and his ability to freeze the puck and waived it off immediately.”
Mark Jankowski had just tied it for the Hurricanes a few shifts earlier after Logan Stankoven started the comeback from down 2-0. On the opposing bench, Carolina players and coach Rod Brind'Amour were not sure how the review was going to go.
“Obviously, you’re hoping for the best,” center Sebastian Aho said. “You can’t really control it. I didn’t have a really good view of it, so I had no clue. So, I was just hoping for the best.”
Brind'Amour decided not to challenge for goalie interference in Game 1 on Tuesday night because there were too many variables at play. His thinking turned out to be right again.
“It happened to us in I guess the first game: When it’s called a goal or no goal on the ice, it better be 100% to challenge it,” Brind'Amour said. “That’s the rule we go by. So, they called no goal on the ice, so that’s kind of how I think it worked out. I don’t know. I don’t know what the explanation is. It looked like he had it covered, and then all of a sudden it was in the net. I don’t know. I haven’t really looked at it. I was just happy that it went our way.”
Andersen went full extension to make a paddle save to deny Barbashev on the initial shot. A scrum ensued around the crease, with players diving at the puck hoping to knock it in or keep it out.
“To me, it felt like a no goal,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. "Obviously, I’m on the other side, but I’m sure they have a different opinion. My gut was like, ‘Man, there’s no way.’ What an incredible effort by Freddie just staying with that one and finding a way to get a piece of that. I was flopping everywhere. I didn’t know what was going on. Freddie just stuck with it. The guy’s an absolute animal. That was a pretty crazy play and obviously a game-changer for us.”
The punishment for a failed coach's challenge is a two-minute minor penalty. Vegas was 4 for 4 on the penalty kill against Carolina's power play to that point in the series.
“I’m not sure how they go about their thought process, Brind'Amour said. “They’ve obviously killed all the penalties. That’s a big one.”
Staal made sure the Golden Knights didn't kill this one, tipping defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere's point shot in for the Hurricanes' eighth power-play goal of the playoffs. Seth Jarvis made it nine when he scored in overtime, though it may have never gotten to that point had Tortorella not challenged.
“You’d like to make them pay every time," Aho said. "It’s a big swing because the other option is going down a goal. But other than that, every time you get a power play, you’re trying to score. So, it’s not that different, but obviously it was a big swing.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) stops the puck during the third period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) stops a shot byf Vegas Golden Knights' Ivan Barbashev (49) during the third period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
