NHL explains controversial no goal call in Leafs/Red Wings game
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings are taking part in the NHL Global Series in Sweden this weekend. Detroit is coming off of a wild 5-4 overtime loss to Ottawa last night, while the Leafs have not played since last Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Leafs and Wings squared off on Friday afternoon in the 2nd game of the Global Series with the Leafs skating away with a thrilled come-from-behind win, thanks to sensational efforts from John Tavares and William Nylander. The game was not decided without controversy, however.
With the game tied at zero, and just over seven minutes left in the second period, Leafs forward Auston Matthews stripped the puck from Wings defenseman Jake Walman in the corner before skating around the net and feeding Marner in the slot. As Marner shot, Walman crashed into the side of the net, knocking it off. The puck appeared to cross the line where the net would have been, but after review, it was determined that it was no goal.
According to rule 63.7 of the rulebook, however, this should have been a goal as the rule states:
The three key points of the ruling are that the net was dislodged by Walman, Marner had a scoring opportunity prior to the net being dislodged and the puck looked as though it would have entered the net between the normal position of the posts. The goal should have counted, but the NHL clarified the reason for the goal not counting.
The NHL stated that "there was no conclusive evidence to confirm the puck crossed the goal line between the normal position of the goal posts" - conclusive being the operative word. That means the NHL couldn't clearly see the puck cross the goal line entirely on any of the replays they had. While many think the Leafs were robbed of a goal, the NHL seems to have gotten this one right.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 17 | 273 ANSWERS NHL explains controversial no goal call in Leafs/Red Wings game Should the goal have counted regardless of video replay? | ||
| Yes | 220 | 80.6 % |
| No | 53 | 19.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
