Henrik Lundqvist was accused of embellishing contact on a close play in front of his crease as the New York Rangers visited the Boston Bruins. Brad Marchand made contact with Lundqvist and was given a two-minute goaltender interference penalty on the play.
Here’s a look at the contact:
Marchand is sent to the sin-bin for this:#ThanksgivingShowdown pic.twitter.com/Sfiv6u7YDf
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) November 27, 2015
Following the game, Boston head coach Calude Julien along with a couple Bruins called out Lundqvist for embellishing.
Marchand’s comments, via NESN:
“I mean, he must have gotten hit with a cement block the way he went down. I didn’t know I was that strong. But it’s tough. It seems like they don’t call goalies on that one. Maybe they should — there’s a lot of that around the league.”
Julien:
“I was upset when it first happened. I think this was the second time — in preseason, Lundqvist did the same thing. I know he does some acting on the side, but I don’t think it needs to be on the ice.
The referees are there to protect goaltenders, and they should. But goaltenders shouldn’t take advantage of referees. You may think it’s a good play for his team to get a power play, but we’re all trying to get that out of our game. If my guys do that, I’m going to address it. I’m not hypocritical about that. We’re trying to improve the game, here.”
Did Lundqvist embellish? That’s difficult to say with any certainty, but it looks like a possibility. Just about every goaltender around the league has been accused of embellishing at one point or another, so it’s not surprising to see Lundqvist receive some heat after a controversial decision.
Though the Bruins’ comments are made in the heat of the moment, they do strike up a conversation which needs to be had. Goalies around the league have definitely embellished (it’s up for you to decide whether Lundqvist is a frequent offender) and yet the NHL hasn’t addressed the problem. If players are held to a new standard (relatively tiny fines), then goalies should be called for diving/embellishing when it happens.
