The Ottawa Senators ended the San Jose Sharks’ five-game winning streak on Monday, but not without some controversy.
San Jose roared back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead. Zack Smith made a great play to gain a penalty shot opportunity, and put it home for Ottawa ... yet there’s plenty of debate regarding whether Smith’s goal should count.
It did, however, and the Senators managed a 4-3 shootout win. This is significant not just in ending the Sharks’ run, as Ottawa now has 50 points, as many as last wild card team Montreal (ahead of the Sens based on tie-breakers).
Ottawa winning makes that Smith goal a little more controversial (let’s face it, if San Jose won this situation would fade a lot quicker).
Check out the goal for yourself:
And here’s the explanation:
Some thought it was a good goal; others weren’t so convinced.
If a cop is watching, Smith still rolled that stop sign. Has to be a good goal.
— Steve Lloyd (@TSNSteveLloyd) January 19, 2016
The hockey fan in me says that goal should count. But based on the rule the way it's written, I'm not so sure.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) January 19, 2016
Smith told TSN that he believes it was a good goal, although if he had a chance to do it over, he wouldn’t have made it “that close.”
While that Smith goal was debatable, there’s no denying the beauty of this one: