We’ve got another edition of “NHL Officiating Circus” for you.
The Pittsburgh Penguins took a 5-2 lead over the Detroit Red Wings this afternoon at Little Caesars Arena after forward Evgeni Malkin (who wasn’t suspended by the NHL back in the 2009 Cup Finals after instigating a fight in the final few minutes of Game 2) deposited the puck past goaltender Thomas Greiss, who had just stopped Jake Guentzel’s shot a moment before.
http://gty.im/1393175438
The puck squirted loose, but the on-ice official blew the whistle. However, after a review, the goal was inexplicably allowed to stand:
“The puck was shot before the whistle blew down, therefore because of continuous motion, we have a goal on the ice,” he explained to the stunned crowd.
This was called a good goal after review…something about continuous motion & intent, I don't know anymore. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/26hULE6rUz
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) April 23, 2022
It's essentially in the refs judgment that him blowing the whistle didn't impact a play that was already in motion… except that Malkin hadn't even touched the puck when the whistle blew
This seems like the weirdest and loosest application of a rule
— Prashanth Iyer (@iyer_prashanth) April 23, 2022
http://gty.im/1393176104
Of course, we’ve seen countless examples in the past of this sort of thing not being allowed. Former Red Wings forward Marian Hossa‘s would-be game-tying goal in Game 3 of the 2009 Semi-Finals against the Anaheim Ducks comes to mind.
Oh, and fans in Nashville are still seething after they took the lead in the deciding Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals, only to have their goal taken back because the on-ice official blew the whistle despite the puck clearly being loose.
The Canucks are on their last limb and don’t face a favourable matchup to keep their playoff aspirations alive. They battle the powerhouse Flames on the road who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The Flames haven’t let up since December and have proven to be a competitive team every night with possibly the best line in the NHL this season consisting of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm, two of whom have hit 100 points.
The Canucks just saw their third player reach 30 goals on the season, but the Flames have four players already at 35-plus. The Canucks had hope after winning six in a row but then lost momentum and possibly their season after a disappointing loss after losing a lead to the Ottawa Senators followed by another loss.
The Canucks will be battling hard, but again it won’t be enough for them to withstand the pressure the Flames come with. Take the Flames and the over (O6.5, +100).
