Senators have goal waved off after two separate reviews

It was a long first period in Nashville on Monday night.

In the only NHL game of the day, the Ottawa Senators appeared to score the opening goal of the game when Drake Batherson jammed in a power-play marker past Predators netminder Juse Sarros.

However, the referees immediately waved the goal off for goaltender interference, and then the delays began.

After disallowing the goal, the referees reviewed the play and confirmed that Batherson interfered with Sarros.

The NHL stated that the initial review was conducted “to ensure the puck did not enter the net as a result of continuous shot.”

But the no-goal call still didn’t sit well with Senators head coach Travis Green, so he challenged the play and sent it to a second review.

The second review changed nothing, and the call of goaltender interference was once again upheld because video review “supported the on-ice call that Batherson impaired with Saros’ ability to play his position in the crease.” Ottawa was assessed a two-minute minor for the unsuccessful challenge.

Green’s issue with the call most likely stemmed from the fact that Batherson appeared to be pushed into Sarros by a Predators player. But rule 69.3 of the NHL rulebook states that “if an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.”

Overall, the two reviews stopped play for over eight minutes. At least it gave fans at the game plenty of time to grab some refreshments.