Pavel Datsyuk made his season debut Tuesday night and was doing what he always does. The puck magician scored what appeared to be a spectacular goal on a spinning backhand shot, but it was immediately washed out by the official.

The call on the ice was that Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader interfered with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price on the play.

Here’s a look at how it all transpired.

So why exactly didn’t this count?

Let’s take a look at the rule as it pertains to this particular play:

Rule 69.1 Interference on the Goalkeeper: Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal…

…The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within his goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by his actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

But what about Price? He’s the one that initiated the contact. That’s what Mike Babcock contested at least.

From the Red Wings' website:

“I saw [Abdelkader] go to the net. I thought it was a heck of a play,” Babcock said. “Abby ends up with his foot in the paint but (Montreal goalie Carey) Price definitely initiates contact. He’s trying to follow Datsyuk. What are you going to do? You’re supposed to allow the goalie to play. He initiated the contact himself but he still initiated the contact.”

The rules actually cover this one, too. Even though Price initiated contact, he is allowed to do so in accordance with rule 69.3, which states:

If a goalkeeper, in the act of establishing his position within his goal crease, initiates contact with an attacking player who is in the goal crease, and this results in an impairment of the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

This goes back to the bolded portion of 69.1 above. Price’s ability to move freely within his crease was impaired even though he initiated the contact himself.

The Red Wings ended up losing the game in overtime, so this call certainly had an impact. It also robbed the hockey world of another great Pavel Datsyuk goal. In the end, it’s probably the right call by the ref, even if it’s a tad confusing.