Tensions were a little high in Columbus on Friday night, and not just because it was Rick Nash's first game back in the city that he called home for nine years; there were also two huge points on the line at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Rick Nash gives Sergei Bobrovsky a shove after waived off goal
Rick Nash didn’t get a warm welcome back to Columbus on Friday night.
Things started to reach a boiling point late in the second period when it appeared that Nash had scored on a partial breakaway to give the Rangers what would have been a 1-0 lead. Trouble is, due to what the referees determined to be incidental contact with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the goal was waived off.
That’s when this happened.
That’s Bobrovsky appearing as if he’s going to hand Nash his stick back, only to toss it across the ice. That’s when Nash shoved him in the throat, setting off that little skirmish around the crease.
As for why the goal itself was waived off, the NHL offered this explanation.
At 17:06 of the second period in the New York Rangers/Columbus Blue Jackets game, the Situation Room initiated a video review because the puck entered the Columbus net. The referee informed the Situation Room that New York's Rick Nash made incidental contact with Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky prior to the puck entering the net. This is not a reviewable play, therefore the referee's call on the ice stands - no goal New York Rangers.
Here is the entire sequence.
