Sharks confused by inconsistent goaltender interference standard

Following his team's third loss in a row - a 3-1 road loss to the upstart Minnesota Wild on Sunday night - San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan was irate and confused about what he felt was a blown call that led to Minnesota's first goal.

Parise opened the scoring on Sunday night, beating Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi shortly after the Sharks goaltender was knocked over by Parise's line-mate Jason Pominville:

It wasn't just the call that had McLellan steaming, it was the apparent inconsistency. 

"Completely different interpretation of what was explained to me in Winnipeg," McLellan said of the explanation he received from the on-ice officials and comparing it with what he was told in Winnipeg after a Sharks goal was disallowed in early November. "I'll be looking for an explanation before we lose our third point now."

Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi chimed in and agreed that the officials blew the call. 

"Yeah I think I was bumped. I'm not sure where it happened or if they did it on purpose or not, but it affected the play, for sure."

Niemi added the he was told by the referees there was no call on the play because he was outside the blue paint of his crease, which seems odd since a goalie being outside of his crease is generally not a factor in goaltender interference calls. 

Rule 69.1 of the NHL rulebook, which governs goaltender interference stipulates that a goal should be disallowed if "an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease."