The Sabers have a goal called back against the Oilers on a hand-pass review

Buffalo Sabers coach Lindy Ruff expressed frustration with the officials for multiple penalty calls during Monday’s loss against the Flames in Calgary.

His feelings about the officials certainly didn’t improve Tuesday in Edmonton.

Rasmus Dahlin’s point shot in the second period bounced off the hands of teammate Alex Tuch before going to Sabers star Tej Thompson, who fired it home to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead.

But Oilers coach Chris Knobloch challenged what the team felt was a missed stop in the game. After reviewing the video, the situation was decided in favor of the Oilers.

“The decision room determined that Alex Touch led to a handball to Tej Thompson at 10:23 of the first period (9:37 elapsed time) — one second before Thompson’s goal. The decision was made pursuant to Rule 79,” the NHL wrote in a statement.

Rule 38.1 of the NHL rulebook states: “In all cases of a coach’s challenge, the original on-ice call shall be overturned, and only if, based on video evidence, a final and indisputable decision can be made that the original on-ice call was clearly not correct. If the ice was correct, the original on-ice call shall be upheld.”

In this case, the stop the Oilers were referring to was what they felt was a one-handed pass, which has been a hotly debated issue lately.

Rule 79.1 in the NHL rulebook states: “A player shall be permitted to intercept or ‘batt’ the puck in the air with his open hand, or to hit it with the ice with his hand, and the game shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the officials on the ice, he has directed the puck to a teammate, or permitted, to the advantage of his team and is subject to regulation. or, in the opinion of the official, the puck has left a player’s hand, and no advantage has been gained by the team, shall not violate the purpose of this rule.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a goal called back on a handpass last Thursday, while the Columbus Blue Jackets lost a challenge on what they felt was a handpass by the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Panthers forward Brad Marchand swatted a flying puck behind the Blue Jackets’ net with his arm before Seth Jones buried Florida’s second goal of the night.

Blue Jackets coach Dan Evans opted to challenge the play for a handpass, but the puck was determined to remove Marchand only after an NHL review, and the goal stood.

A stunned Evanson, whose team also had a goal called back due to a kicking move, said “the whole game was a joke.”

As for the Lightning, a Nikita Kucherov goal was disallowed when Brandon Hagel made a handball against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lightning coach John Cooper called the call “ridiculous.”

The Sabres, to their credit, held their composure on Tuesday and took a 2-0 lead minutes later when Thompson scored a goal that counted.