Last night, as the Montreal Canadiens were killing a penalty against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they managed to score one of the weirdest goals of the season.
Leading 1-0 with 8 minutes to go in the second, the Lightning fired a shot on goal which was easily stopped by Samuel Montembeault. After holding it for a few seconds, officials did not blow the whistle, which led to Montembeault playing the puck. The problem was, the Lightning thought the play was dead.
The puck was picked up by Habs defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic and shot down the ice into the empty net as Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson was doing a lap to the corner in anticipation of an offensive zone faceoff, assuming the play had been stopped. There was no whistle because Lightning players had gone to the bench for a change and no one was around the Canadiens net, leaving Montembeault free to play the puck.
The goal put the Habs up 2-0, but it would be for nothing in the end, as they ended up losing 4-3. It is by far one of the weirdest goals in the NHL in recent memory and quite the way to end 2023.
