The Florida Panthers simply couldn’t beat Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on Monday night. Their best chance may have come off the helmet of linesman Scott Cherrey.

 

 

A shot from Anton Lundell deflected off linesman Scott Cherrey, nearly eluding Vasilevskiy.  The Lightning netminder was able to deflect the puck with a last second poke check.

Not that it mattered.

Had the puck gone in, it wouldn’t have counted.

Officials are typically in play, but you can’t score a goal off one — just ask referee Tim Peel.   From Rule 85.4:

Play shall not be stopped if the puck touches an official anywhere on the rink, regardless of whether a team is short-handed or not.

If a goal is scored as a result of being deflected directly into the net off an official, the goal shall not be allowed.

Heck of a save by Vasilevskiy on this shot — one of 49 on the night.  One, though, that would’ve never counted.

 

Though there were two other goals scored tonight that also didn’t count.

Lightning Lose Two Goals to Coach’s Challenges in Game 4