Referee Garrett Rank edges Wes McCauley with call of the year!

Only one positive thing happened for the New York Islanders in last night’s game against the Blues in St. Louis, and fortunately for them, it’s what’s been trending in their 4-0 loss.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game, the Blues seemed to add another goal their already substantial 4-0 lead. Defenseman Matthew Kessel fired a shot from close to the blue line and it looked like he had found the back of the net for the first time of his NHL career. However, officials saw that the puck was actually knocked into the net by the high stick of his teammate Alexey Toropchenko, and immediately with that, the goal was disallowed. The call did, however, go to an official replay review.

On the review, it was clear that Toropchenko had touched the puck with a high stick, well above the crossbar, and referee Garrett Rank made his way to center ice to make the call. In front of the St. Louis crowd, Rank stole the show with what could be the call of the 2023-24 season, warning Blues’ fans about what was coming.

“You’re not going to like it, but the call on the ice was correct,” Rank said. “No goal.”

Rank was quickly trending on social media with fans loving the call. He was also compared to another popular NHL referee in Wes McCauley, who’s well known for his original calls. Some even dared to say Rank was edging McCauley in that category.

After all, this was not Rank’s first time making an unusual announcement this season. In a previous game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, a scrum broke out late in the third period that featured everyone on the ice getting involved and Rank saying, “every player on the ice has a 10-minute misconduct.”

Can’t wait to hear another fun call from Rank this season with less than two months to go before the playoffs.

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