It doesn’t happen too often that hockey is discussed on the New York sports talk airwaves, but Evan Roberts couldn’t help but get his frustration out about the goaltender interference call on the Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri late in the team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday night.
The refs waved off what would have been the go-ahead goal with 8.9 seconds left in the game due to a call that angered the Isles and left many hockey fans scratching their heads.
Islanders fans were infuriated even further when the team lost in a shootout, costing them a crucial point in the standings amid an attempt to make the playoffs, leading the WFAN host to tear into the officials at the top of “Evan & Tiki” on Tuesday.
“Let me just get this off my chest. We don’t have to talk about it, I just want it out there in the ethers,” Roberts started off saying. “The New York Islanders got screwed last night, OK? We all know it. That’s what happened. They got hosed out of a point. The officials suck, Toronto sucks, the Islanders got screwed, now let’s move on.”
The conversation ended right there, but Roberts certainly encapsulated what many fans had been feeling after the controversial goaltender interference call.
The players and head coach Patrick Roy blasted the call after the loss, with Palmari calling it “f–king embarrassing” and the Isles’ bench boss saying that the NHL situation room in Toronto was “afraid” to overturn calls.
“Palmieri was out of the crease and he tipped it in. I think their goalie [Elvis Merzlikins] pushed him away at the same time,” Roy said. “So that’s how I see it. If Toronto’s afraid to overturn calls made by the referee, we don’t need Toronto.”
The Islanders entered Tuesday’s slate tied with the Rangers with 74 points, just one point back of the Canadiens for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
