Panthers cruise in Boston; B's robbed of goal?
After the past 24 hours the Boston Bruins probably aren’t going to be very big fans of video review in the NHL.
During their loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night they weren’t awarded a goal after Henrik Lundqvist made a sprawling glove save on a puck that was probably across the goal line even though it was inside his glove.
On Thursday, while facing a 2-1 third period deficit to the Florida Panthers in a pretty huge game in the Eastern Conference playoff race, Patrice Bergeron thought he scored a game-tying goal when he appeared to bank a shot in off of Roberto Luongo‘s pads and sneak it across the goal line.
The video review appears to show the puck tucked just inside the net and against Luongo’s pad. It eventually gets kicked free.
Have a look. That little black circle just inside the net? That is the puck. Looks to be pretty close to being across the line, doesn’t it?
But no!
The league decided after review that there was no conclusive evidence to show that the puck was entirely across the line. It’s important to keep in mind this is not part of the coach’s challenge system where the on-ice officials ended up making the call. This was made by the NHL’s situation room in Toronto. And … well. That is at least a little bit controversial.
No, you can’t completely see the puck over the goal line on any of the angles, but that is one of those plays, just like the one on Wednesday night in New York, that is probably over the line just based on what you can see.
Bruins fans briefly littered the ice with some garbage after the call was not overturned.
The Panthers not only maintained their lead, they added to it just a few minutes later on a Jussi Jokinen goal. The Panthers added an empty net goal to come away with a huge 4-1 win to regain sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
Given how tight the playoff races are in the conference, with the Bruins entering the game just three points behind the Panthers for the division lead and only three points up on the first team on the outside of the playoffs these are some pretty big points, and that is a tough call to not get in that situation.
