Here’s the scene: the Calgary Flames trail 2-1 in the 2nd period of the most important game of their 82 game season. If they can find a way to beat the visiting Anaheim Ducks, they’ll pull to within a single point of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Flames put the puck towards the net and a huge scrum ensues—Flames players are celebrating what they believe is a goal and Ducks players are insisting there’s no goal. If it’s ruled a goal, the Flames even the score at 2-2 in their must-win game. Make no mistake about it; this the biggest moment in the biggest game in Calgary’s rollercoaster year.
The call from Gord Dwyer is “no goal” on the ice; therefore the boys in Toronto must find indisputable evidence that the puck crosses the line. Here’s the replay of the goal and the reaction from the Calgary Flames closest to the action after the game.
One of the best parts about this situation was the differing opinions on the different networks. The Ducks broadcast and analysts insisted that the puck was never visible and there was no way the league could rule it as a legal goal. On the TSN feed in Canada, the analysts thought they could see the puck and it was clearly across the line. Whether the puck is in the net or not, Ryan Getzlaf certainly doesn’t help the Ducks’ pleas of innocence. As the puck is sitting on his own goaltender, it appears as though he grabs the puck, falls into the goal (while closing his hand on the puck), then shifts it out and into the scrum without raising any suspicions from the officials on the ice. If the puck never crossed the line, then Getzlaf made sure there wouldn’t be evidence to the contrary. If the puck did cross the line, then the line: “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying” quickly comes to mind. Regardless, this is where people will say he made a “savvy, veteran play.”
The play cost the Flames dearly. After a lengthy delay, the Ducks scored another goal before the end of the 2nd period to go up 3-1 into the 2nd intermission. The final score ended up 4-2, but the game was pretty much over after 40 minutes.
This is where we throw it to the readers: Should this goal have counted or did the NHL officials in Toronto get this important call right?