Former goaltender Marty Biron raises serious questions over NHL officials' late no-goal call resulting in shootout loss for Islanders

Former NHL goalie Martin Biron gave his take on the disallowed goal controversy from Monday’s game between the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The incident occurred with the score tied at 3-3 and 10 seconds left in the third period.

Islanders’ right winger Kyle Palmieri appeared to have deflected the puck past Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins for the game-winning goal, but the referees immediately waived it off over goaltender interference. The situation room reviewed the call and did not overturn it, drawing the ire of Islanders coach Patrick Roy. The Blue Jackets went on to win 4-3 after a penalty shootout.

SiriusXM NHL Network Radio posted a recording of Biron analyzing the disallowed goal incident on X.

“Kyle Palmieri made contact with Merzlikins. But did it really hinder Elvis’ ability to play the position? And the clear answer to that is no," Biron said. "The reason the puck went in the net is because Palmieri made a great deflection.

“Elvis was set. Elvis was ready. He saw the contact come. He actually kind of, I don't want to say, initiated the contact, but he braced for the contact, and then he pushed Palmieri, basically outside of the crease and initiated that contact. The puck comes in and gets deflected. It's in the net.

"Now, the letter of the law will tell you that any contact inside the crease, and if a goal is scored, you know, right away or just shortly after, they will wave it up. And I don't like that.”

Biron also made the case that automatically waving off a goal because of goaltender interference tends to favor the defending side, as the reviewers won’t overturn calls determined to be inconclusive. He called for the review process to look at such incidents on a case-by-case basis rather than just applying the contact rule regardless of the circumstances.

Biron analyzes earlier goalie interference challenge which went the Islanders' way

At 19:12 of the second period, Islanders’ Anders Lee scored the team’s third goal from the crease after his teammate Mike Reilly’s shot deflected off his leg into the net. The Blue Jackets had challenged for goalie interference, but the goal was allowed to stand.

Biron said the New York team “were gifted a goal.”

“When Anders Lee made contact with Merzlikins and they let that one stand, so that's where I'm saying even-stevens," Biron said. "It evened itself out, but that last-second goal or last 10-second goal should have counted, in my opinion.”

This is the third game in a row the Islanders have lost after leading in the third period.