The hockey gods weren't on the Boston Bruins' side Sunday night. Neither were the referees, their head coach might argue.
The Bruins appeared to tie the New Jersey Devils with 1:10 left in regulation at TD Garden when Patrice Bergeron jammed home a rebound in front of the net.
The Devils challenged for goaltender interference, however, arguing that B's center David Krejci poked the puck from under netminder Mackenzie Blackwood's glove on a play that should have been blown dead.
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New Jersey won the challenge, as the referees determined goaltender interference after video review and overturned the call.
That determination didn't sit well with Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy.
"He signaled a goal. He was right in front of it, the official, so I thought typically it’s supposed to be something egregious," Cassidy told reporters after the game. "I guess they deemed that egregious."
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From Cassidy's standpoint, there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call, which he believed the referee got right at ice level.
"I think the overhead does us no favor and that’s what they look at," Cassidy said. "I think if you saw an angle, maybe an on-ice one, that David’s stick gets in there before the puck. But I don’t know. What am I supposed to say on that?"
The result of the call was a frustrating 1-0 loss for the Bruins, who were denied another equalizing chance on an incredible save by Blackwood with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Boston has bigger problems than just poor puck luck, however. The B's now are 0-4-1 against the Devils on the season with back-to-back shutout losses to New Jersey and rank 30th in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals with 48.
With the April 12 NHL trade deadline approaching and the Philadelphia Flyers breathing down their necks for the No. 4 seed in the East Division, the Bruins may need to add more firepower for the stretch run.