Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube explained why he did not challenge the game-winning goal in Saturday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators.

With just over nine minutes left in the third period and the two teams deadlocked at 1-1, the Senators moved the puck down low to try and generate a scoring chance in tight. As the puck moved around, it went off forward Shane Pinto’s knee and got past Joseph Woll into the short side to give Ottawa the lead that they would not relinquish.

While it appeared to have gone in off a kicking motion at first glance, Berube said the opportunity to challenge the goal was not made available as it was up to the NHL to determine the legality of the goal.

“I can’t challenge that,” he told reporters following the game. “It is an upstairs call by the league. They looked at it and said it was a goal.”

While that might not be a satisfactory answer to some fans who feel strongly that Pinto intentionally kicked the puck in, the replay shows that his leg moved a moment after it bounced off his knee so nothing he did on the play was illegal. Even if Berube had the option to challenge the goal, there is a good chance the call would have stood and the Leafs would have been shorthanded.

Some fans were quick to point out a similar play in which Steven Lorentz scored a goal that went off his knee on November 13th, which can be seen below. However, the goal was overturned after a video review because it was propelled in. The plays are certainly similar in that the puck went in off the knee, but the difference is that Lorentz’s leg moved as the puck made contact, while Pinto’s leg only moved well after the puck bounced off his knee.

It is undoubtedly frustrating for the fans who feel this is another example of the Leafs being called differently than the rest of the league, but the officials got this one right and Berube would have wasted a coach’s challenge if he tried to overturn it. Besides, the players were more disappointed that they couldn’t get the bounces to go their way.

“It was a pretty evenly matched game. They got a bounce at the end, and we didn’t get that gritty bounce in front of the net,” defenceman Jak McCabe said. “We have been talking in the last couple of games about being harder at our net and harder at their net, too. In the third period, we were coming on and providing some pressure down there. They got the bounce in the front of the net, but I thought we defended pretty well for the most part tonight. Woll did another great job. Just came up short.”

“We had a lot of good chances with some good o-zone time,” forward Bobby McMann added. “Sometimes, you just don’t get the bounces. You want to give yourself the best odds by getting the puck in their zone and giving yourselves as many chances as possible.”

The Leafs will look to get more favourable bounces when they host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.