The Washington Capitals came away with two points against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, but head coach Spencer Carbery still has qualms with the final box score. A full three days after the game, Carbery harshly criticized the NHL for refusing to award an assist to Rasmus Sandin on Tom Wilson’s first-period goal, which the league determined was unassisted.
“I am blown away how he doesn’t get an assist on that goal,” Carbery told reporters Tuesday. “I have talked to the league about it. I think that’s a joke.”
Midway through the first period Saturday night, Sandin picked up the puck behind his own net and carried it nearly the full length of the ice into Columbus’ zone. A Blue Jackets defender poke-checks the puck away from Sandin but failed to control it himself: Tom Wilson picked up the loose puck, recovered from another Columbus poke-check, and sent it into the back of the net.
Carbery’s argument hinges on the definition of assists, laid out in Rule 78.3 of the NHL Rulebook (emphasis added).
Crediting Assists – When a player scores a goal, an “assist” shall be credited to the player or players (maximum two) who touch the puck prior to the goal scorer provided no defender plays or has control of the puck subsequently. Each “assist” shall count one point in the player’s record. Only one point can be credited to any one player on a goal.
In Carbery’s eyes, Columbus failed to gain control of the puck at any point on the play, meaning Sandin should earn credit for the assist. He was particularly incensed at what he saw as inconsistent rulings from league officials.
“There is zero possession,” he said. “You cannot tell me there’s any possession for any Blue Jacket in that puck handle. And I watch, those assists are doled out every single night all over the league. Sandin carries the puck the entire length of the rink. He strategically, yeah he gets stick on puck, but he keeps that puck alive for Tom Wilson. I just don’t see that and I see it every night in other buildings, so I have a hard time seeing how he doesn’t come out of that game with two assists.”
The Capitals’ broadcast team followed a similar line of reasoning, assuming that Sandin had gotten an assist when announcing the goal.
A similar play went Washington’s way earlier in the season against the Ottawa Senators. Though Sens blueliner Jake Sanderson poke-checked the puck off of Alex Ovechkin’s stick, both Ovechkin and Wilson received an assist on John Carlson’s subsequent goal.
The assist would have been Sandin’s first point of the season, but he wouldn’t have to wait long, earning a helper minutes later on Sonny Milano’s goal.
Even with only one helper on the scoresheet, Carbery praised Sandin’s progress this season, particularly after having worked with him for nearly two seasons in Toronto.
“I’ve felt like the whole year he’s defended well,” Carbery said. “I have a lot of experience with him over the last three years so I feel like his game is in a really good place from day one. I thought he’s defended better than I’ve ever seen having worked with him.”
He later added, “The stuff that we’ve continued to work with him on and talk to him about is when he’s getting into these scoring situations, what type of decisions is he making? He made two real good ones the other night.”
Headline: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
