Connor Hellebuyck calls out the NHL for recent controversial goal

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Dorin Canaday
November 28, 2022 (1:25 PM)

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The Dallas Stars scored one of the more controversial goals this season against the Winnipeg Jets last Friday, and it just so happened to tie the game with 20 seconds left.

The incident (video below) is still being talked about because the play wasn't blown dead after goaltender Connor Hellebuyck lost his helmet.

The official NHL ruling is that the play can continue if there's an immediate scoring chance for the opposing team in this situation. Jamie Benn of the Stars does retrieve the puck first, but after watching the play, Dallas makes two passes before scoring on an empty net while Hellebuyck is down.

It's understandable if the Stars would have had a tap-in goal directly after, but that seemed like not an ''immediate'' scoring chance. Hellebuyck spoke to the media about the incident and, rightfully so, was not happy, as he called for a rule change from the league.

''The way the play goes, they're expecting me to get up, go to the post, and then square up to a point shot; for me, that's just way too long, and no one's gonna do that with no mask on. We don't want any goalie in this league (to do that); we don't want that for us. We don't want to see that anywhere in this league''

''The fact that happened last night is very eye-opening, and hopefully, we can get better and get this rule changed.''

The only problem, if there was a rule change, is the fact that goalies would most likely exploit it and intentionally lose their masks more often to get a whistle. This was a case where the referee possibly made the wrong judgement on what an immediate scoring chance was.