BOSTON — In a tie game and time winding down on the second period, Elias Lindholm looked to give the Bruins some momentum going into the third with the go-ahead goal against the Canadiens.
The goal horn sounded. But as quick as it came on it turned off and the officials were signaling for no goal due to goaltender interference.
It appeared Montreal’s own skater interfered with his goalie, not David Pastrnak. But Marco Sturm elected not to challenge the non-call.
“It’s always a group decision,” the Bruins coach said. “I think we thought David had the stick in the goalie’s pad and he couldn’t move. And it was a non-goal-call from the ref, too. So you always have to think about that one. They don’t like to overrule things, too. That was pretty much it.”
Sturm elected to challenge Zachary Bolduc’s go-ahead goal in the third period for goaltender interference. The goal was upheld.
Did Sturm think challenging Bolduc’s goal was a gamble?
“Yes and no,” he said. “All those challenges, I feel like if you look at around the league and even with us, two today, sometimes you never know. Looking back afterwards, could we make maybe a different call on one of them? Maybe. But again, those are split seconds. Sometimes you have to make a decision right away and trust everyone. There’s a lot of guys looking at those situations at once. We made that call and today didn’t happen.”
From there, the Canadiens completely tilted the ice in their favor and earned a 6-2 win over Boston. The four unanswered goals in the third came in a five-minute span.
The Bruins now go into the holiday break on a four-game losing streak. On the other end of that break is a five-game road trip that begins in Buffalo against the Sabres — who have won seven straight — and ends in Seattle.