The wait was worth it.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov recorded the hat trick Friday, scoring the winning goal -- off the stick of Patric Hornqvist -- and helping give his team an important 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tampa Bay now moves into sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division after wins in four straight games.
Namestnikov said it was first hat trick since juniors. "Obviously you dream about it." #TBLightning
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 16, 2016
But after celebrating with his teammates, Namestnikov had to wait by the bench while officials reviewed the winning goal on a coach’s challenge for a potential offside call.
From the NHL’s Situation Room blog:
At 2:11 of overtime in the Penguins/Lightning game, the Situation Room initiated a review under the terms of a Coach’s Challenge to examine whether Tampa Bay was off-side prior to Vladislav Namestnikov’s goal.
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL Hockey Operations staff, the Linesman determined that the puck did not leave the attacking zone and therefore the play was on-side prior to Tampa Bay’s goal.