The Florida Panthers are now one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1996, but some NHL fans have questions as to how Game 3 ended.
On Monday, the Panthers bested the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Despite the Hurricanes outshooting the Panthers 32-17, Florida held strong off the back of Sergei Bobrovsky’s fantastic performance in net.
However, the ending of Game 3 didn’t sit well with many NHL fans. With the goaltender pulled in the final few minutes of the game, the Hurricanes were breaking out of their own zone when Shayne Gostisbehere was hit with a high stick from Sam Reinhart. Play was stopped before the Panthers scored an empty netter, but after some deliberation, the referees decided that no penalty should be called and that play should continue 1-0.
Here’s how the play went down.
Ouch… 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/YCE6wZP2gV
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 23, 2023
Gostisbehere got caught in the shield by Reinhart's stick, tried to sell it a little bit#TimeToHunt | #LetsGoCanes pic.twitter.com/c0kOsEEr2r
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) May 23, 2023
While Gostisbehere exaggerates it, the Hurricanes’ defenseman still gets hit up high with a stick, which is a penalty regardless of the reaction. Of course, the Hurricanes didn’t lose Game 3 because of the no penalty call, but going on a late power play with the chance to tie the game would have benefited them greatly.
NHL fans could not believe this high stick on Gostisbehere was not called a penalty late in Game 3.
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