It’s hard enough to score a goal in the NHL. Then, when you do, nobody sees it go in.
Detroit’s Riley Sheahan found himself in that situation on Sunday night, when he nearly opened the scoring against the Anaheim Ducks. The referees signaled no goal, believing the puck deflected off the crossbar with 9:27 to play in the first period. Even after the league reviewed the play during a commercial break, play resumed with the score still 0-0.
“It was weird,” coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. “From the bench, it looked like, how did it not go in? We couldn’t tell where the puck went. Then our guys in the back here thought it went in based on what they saw. I looked at it between periods, I didn’t see a definitive view. Somebody told me they thought it was in.”
The puck appeared to deflect off the top of the camera and somehow squeeze through the netting.
“I just saw it hit off something and go up, so I figured it wasn’t in,” Sheahan said. “I think our guys in the locker room looking at video saw something different.”
“We saw the overhead look and obviously it looked like it went in,” said Detroit’s Dylan Larkin. “But, you never know, you’ve got to check.”
The NHL checked, with referees Dean Morton and Chris Lee reaching out to the Situation Room for review. Unfortunately, they missed this one.
Based on the angle and where the puck hit, it was easy to miss. Besides, it’s not like pucks going through the net happens often…
