Did Lightning have too many men on ice for winning shorthanded goal vs. Islanders?
Yanni Gourde #37 of the Tampa Bay Lightning is congratulated by Anthony Cirelli #71 after scoring a goal against the Islanders during the second period in Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Semifinals s at Amalie Arena on June 25, 2021 in Tampa. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
TAMPA, Fla. – Not one Islander mentioned it or was questioned about it in the immediate wake of their season-ending, 1-0 loss to the Lightning in Friday night’s Game 7 of their NHL semifinal series.
But a photo circulated on social media seemed to indicate the Lightning may have had five skaters on the ice on Yanni Gourde’s shorthanded goal at 1:49 of the second period.
Gourde jumped off the bench and into the offensive zone as Anthony Cirelli curled along the right wall and fed him in the slot for the only shorthanded goal the Islanders allowed all season. Alex Killorn was just returning to the Lightning bench but three Lightning players are also in the neutral zone for a total of five in the action.
Not that the three players in the neutral zone impacted the play as Cirelli and Gourde operated solo in the Islanders’ zone.
Still, a potential missed too-many-men penalty on the Lightning’s winning shorthanded goal would be a cruel irony to the Islanders.
The Lightning won Game 2 of the series at Amalie Arena, 4-2, but coach Barry Trotz was livid when the on-ice officiating crew seemingly missed seven Lightning on the ice on Ondrej Palat’s goal to make it 2-1 at 13:15 of the second period. The Lightning eventually took a 4-1 lead in that game.
"You guys know there were too many men on the ice there," Trotz said after Game 2. "They had seven guys. Disappointed in that."
There was plenty of disappointment and pain expressed by Trotz and the Islanders players who spoke after Game 7, particularly a choked-up Mathew Barzal, but none brought up the possibility of the Lightning having too many men on Gourde’s goal.
Anyway, the NHL does not allow for video reviews of potential too-many-men situations.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
