One way or another, Marco Scandella and Charlie Coyle showed some insane skill on this play.
Scandella’s remarkable flip-pass set things up, but Coyle kept his cool to control the puck and make enough moves to beat Jonathan Quick for a goal ... that was very close to not being a goal.
You can see multiple replays of that moment in the video above. Initially, people were doing some freeze-framing to see if the play was onside:
We're rapidly reaching "what's a goal?" territory, a corner the NFL has had to itself with its catch rules till now. pic.twitter.com/dCR71HIDEx
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 22, 2016
Apparently that debate wasn’t necessary, as the NHL explained in its Situation Room Blog:
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL Hockey Operations staff, the Linesman determined that Coyle had possession and control of the puck as he entered the attacking zone, even though his skates preceded the puck over the blue line. According to Rule 83.1, “a player actually controlling the puck who shall cross the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered ‘off-side,’ provided he had possession and control of the puck prior to his skates crossing the blue line.”
Therefore the original call stands – good goal Minnesota Wild.
Interesting stuff. It’s yet another example of how tricky the goal review process can be, and that seeing these tallies (or non-tallies) over and over again won’t necessarily end all debates.
Is this getting too frustrating, or is it worth it to (ideally) get more calls right?