It was nearly a buzzer beater for Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane — only his potential game-winning goal against Vegas didn’t quite beat the buzzer.
As the final seconds of overtime ticked down, Kane skated into the Vegas zone on a breakaway. Rather than delay on a deke, the clock-conscious Kane ripped a slapshot from the slot that beat Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit.
The goal horn sounded. Chelsea Dagger blared. The players celebrated their apparent win.
The shot beat Brossoit… but it didn’t beat the clock.
The television broadcast appeared to show the puck crossing the line with 0.1 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the official time.
Referee Wes McCauley had the unfortunate task of breaking the news to the 18,083 in attendance.
“After reviewing the play, it was determined that the time was expired, therefore… NO GOAL!”
While the broadcast clock showed 0.1, the green light behind the net was already on, indicating that time had expired prior to the puck crossing the line.
The green light behind the net – signifying the end of the period – is lit before the puck crosses the goal line on Patrick Kane’s potential game-winner for the Chicago Blackhawks
Rule 4.1 covers the lights.
Behind each goal, electrical lights shall be set up. A red light will signify the scoring of a goal and a green light will signify the end of a period or a game.
A goal cannot be scored when a green light is showing.
Any disputes regarding the clock are handled under Rule 34.1:
In the event of any dispute regarding time, the matter shall be referred to the Referees for adjudication and their decision shall be final. They may use the Video Goal Judge/Situation Room to assist in rendering their final decision.
The video review of that goal and the clock happens under Rule 37.6:
The NHL Situation Room may use Video Review to establish the correct time on the clock. The “burn in” of the game clock is mandatory for the two overhead goal video feeds, and should be made available by the host broadcaster on
as many additional feeds as possible.
The NHL Situation Room may be consulted or may intervene with Onand Off-Ice Officials directly, as appropriate, to ensure that any loss of time on the game or penalty clocks due to these situations is properly
replaced.
In the event of any dispute regarding time, the matter shall be referred to the NHL Situation Room for adjustment, and its decision shall be final. The Game Timekeeper shall assist to verify game time via an additional timing device (NHL approved stopwatch).
The score reset as the two teams headed to the shootout. Kane attempted a repeat of his near-winner, firing a slapshot on his shootout attempt that was unsuccessful.
Chicago’s Tyler Johnson scored on a wrister in the third round of the shootout, giving the Hawks the 3-2 victory they’d already thought they’d earned.
Referees for the game were Wes McCauley and Michael Markovic (#31), with linesmen Shandor Alphonso (#52) and Kilian McNamara (#93).
