Kevin Bieksa and Elliotte Friedman gave their thoughts on the Quinton Byfield puck cover during Game 5 on Tuesday. The game was tied 1-1 in the third period when the Edmonton Oilers had a close scoring chance.
Zach Hyman took a shot that Darcy Kuemper stopped, but the puck stayed loose. It came inches away from the goal line before Byfield jumped on it. In doing so, he appeared to cover the puck in the crease.
Both analysts agreed that this kind of play should have led to a penalty. Friedman said that the referees missed the call. He explained that it cannot be reviewed and that the Oilers should have received a penalty shot.
"The Oilers should've had the penalty shot. It's not something that can be reviewed," Friedman said.
"They (refs) just missed it. If you can get away with it, you do it. But he definitely covers up the puck in the crease. I understand it's desperation; you gotta do it. You gotta keep the puck out of the net in any way which is poosible. But that should've been a penalty shot."
Several Kings and one Oilers player were down in the crease. Kuemper was also a part of the pile. The puck was eventually cleared, but the view was blocked, making any review difficult.
Kevin Bieksa agreed but had a slightly different take. He said that Quinton Byfield knew where the cameras were and timed his move well. He added that it was a desperate play by Byfield, and he apparently used his hand to push the puck away.
"It's unbelievable when you cheat and dont get caught like that," Bieksa said. "Drew throwing the stick on the goal. He jumps on it and covers. He knows the cameras are up there. It's an unbelievable job by Byfield. You gotta tip your cap there."
Despite Quinton Byfield's efforts, the Kings allowed two third-period goals
Quinton Byfield has scored two goals and has three points in five playoff games. But he didn't get an opportunity to score for the Kings, like the team's leading scorer Adrian Kempe, Philip Danault and Anze Kopitar.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored Los Angeles’ only goal early in the second period on a power play, but Kane leveled the scores just after an Oilers power play expired.
There were no goals in the second period before Edmonton scored late in the third period. Mattias Janmark gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead at 7:12. He scored off a rebound from Viktor Arvidsson’s shot before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal at 19:02, with assists from McDavid and Draisaitl to give the Oilers a 3-1 win.
Pickard made 21 saves for the Oilers, while Kuemper stopped 43 shots for the Kings. Game 6 on Thursday will be Quinton Byfield and Kings' only chance to tie the series.
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