John Tortorella, Golden Knights Address Failed Challenge on Disallowed Goal in Stanley Cup Final G2

Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella says he has no regrets about his failed challenge on his team's disallowed goal late in regulation of an overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

"I saw a loose puck in front of Freddie," Tortorella told reporters after the loss. "Our players stabbed it, didn't move the goalie, and it goes through him and to the other side. I'd challenge it 10 out of 10 times."

NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom told a pool reporter after the game the goal wasn't given because the official on the ice believed the puck "was under the goalie."

"The Vegas player went after the puck and interfered with the goalie and his ability to freeze the puck," Walkom said, adding the referee "waved it off immediately."

The Hurricanes scored on the ensuing power play to take a late lead before eventually claiming a 4-3 overtime win to tie their series against the Knights.

The Golden Knights would have taken a 3-2 lead late in regulation had Tortorella's challenge succeeded.

The Hurricanes instead held their lead until the final two minutes of regulation, when the Golden Knights benefitted from a tying goal scored off the stick of Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

The Hurricanes ended the game just under four minutes into overtime with a power-play goal from Seth Jarvis.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said after the loss his team felt "a sense of adversity with the disallowed goal."

Vegas forward Mitch Marner, when asked after the game if he was "hopeful" the call might be overturned, answered: "I think everyone was, yeah."

"The puck was free," Marner told reporters. "[Ivan Barbashev] gets all puck there. And that's sometimes how the game goes."

This isn't the first time goaltender interference has been a topic of conversation in the Final.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour previously said he decided not to challenge the Golden Knights' opening goal of Game 1, despite Keegan Kolesar's presence in the crease, because there were "too many variables" to be certain it would count as interference on review.

"What I do know, and it happened to us in the first game about, when it's called a goal or a no goal on the ice, it'd better be 100 percent to challenge it," Brind'Amour said after Thursday's overtime win. "That's the rule we go by. So, they called no goal on the ice, so that's kind of how I think it worked out."

The Golden Knights won Game 1 before dropping Game 2 in overtime. The series will now head to Las Vegas tied at 1-1 ahead of Saturday night's 8 p.m. ET puck drop at T-Mobile Arena.