Monday was a day full of controversy surrounding the game between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning. First, there was Bruce Boudreau's comments about Steve Downie and Steven Stamkos taking dives, then there were referees Marc Joannette and Tom Kowal who decided to get in on the fun. It all led to a 2-1 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals in a critical southeast division showdown.
"It's tough," Lightning forward Nate Thompson said. "We can take a lot of good things from it. It came down to a shootout. It could have been 2-0 with that goal they disallowed, for the most part, it was a war. It came down to shoot out. For sixty minutes it was playoff hockey out there."
The Lightning got on the board first when they scored off a Steven Stamkos face off win. Stamkos won the draw back to Marty St. Louis, who took a wrist shot on goal. Sean Bergenheim was able to get his stick on the puck and deflect it past Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead.
It was a lead that would hold up until the third period when it appeared Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier would put the Lightning up 2-0, until referee Tom Kowal emphatically ruled no goal. He claimed that Lightning forward Marty St. Louis knocked over Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, preventing him from making the save. Something both replays and the Lightning disagreed with.
"I got tripped," Marty St. Louis said. "I didn't feel like I was going at the goalie. I got tripped and ended up in the crease."
The no-goal call would come back to haunt the Lightning in the long run. Capitals sniper Alexander Semin tied the game with just over five minutes left to go on a low, accurate wrist shot that beat Dwayne Roloson cleanly. In overtime, both teams had numerous chances to win the game with neither converting.
In the shootout, the were unable to convert with Dominic Moore, Adam Hall or Vincent Lecavalier while Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals the extra point by faking out Roloson and roofing a shot.
The story of the night was the disallowed goal and the impact it had on the game, something that was not lost on head coach Guy Boucher.
"I never got an explanation," Boucher said. "I have my own though. I have looked at it 15 times now with about 20 people in my office. Our guy never touched the goalie. It was their players stick, and if it was not a goal, then it has to be a penalty. It was a major tripping. That's a goal, and that's 2-0, and that's probably the game. It's the wrong call. Period."
This is a tough one to swallow for the Lightning. To have full control of the game and have it get taken away on a phantom call is always tough. They will need to recover in a hurry though with a very talented Chicago team coming to town on Wednesday night. Even with all the changes, the defending Stanley Cup champions are in a battle for their playoff lives in the western conference, which should make this an interesting match up.
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This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.