Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry was awarded a goal after a shot deflected off both posts, just barely making it over the goal line.
Leading 4-3 in the third period of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche, Lowry took a pass in the faceoff circle and cut toward the net. He beat the Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon and fired the puck past goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The puck hit the near goal post, caromed off the opposite post, then bounced back to the original post and out.
Referee Trevor Hanson immediately waved off the goal. The league, though, took a second look at the play.
The puck appeared to completely cross the goal line after its second bounce, when it was on its return trip from the far post. It contacted the ice, changing direction and bouncing forward, which is why it didn’t end up in the net.
From the NHL:
The Situation Room informed the officials that Adam Lowry’s shot at 16:29 (3:31 elapsed time) completely crossed the Colorado goal line.
It was a relatively brief review; the Situation Room was already queuing up the tape while play continued. Of course, some puck tracking – or maybe even lasers or sensors in the net frame – could’ve made quicker work of this ruling. Heck, my garage door knows when someone crosses the line.
That goal proved to be a critical one for Winnipeg, as the Jets held on for a 7-6 win in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff opening round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Referees for the game were Trevor Hanson (#14) and Eric Furlatt (#27), with Steve Barton (#59) and Kyle Flemington (#55) on the lines.
