We’ve seen some pretty interesting own goals throughout NHL history, and now Cam Ward has staked his claim for one of the strangest.
The Carolina Hurricanes goaltender scored on himself in one of the most bizarre plays ever seen in the NHL.
The puck, as you can see, hops into the skate of an unknowing Ward as the veteran netminder went out to play a puck that was rimmed around the boards.
Ward, does what he would normally do after trotting out behind his net, and gets back into his crease. Unsure of where the puck is, he drops into the butterfly. The problem is the puck is stuck in his right skate, which goes over the goal line.
It’s hard to explain, so let’s roll the footage:
I mean, Are You Serious, Bro?!?! pic.twitter.com/QC6qayOUBq
— Bally Sports: Canes (@CanesOnBally) March 22, 2018
The play-by-play man on Fox Sports Carolinas had a good point: Why wasn’t the play blown dead? Even if the ref has his eye on the puck, there was no way of Ward knowing what he was about to do.
Is there even a rule for that?
I believe this would be the applicable section of the rule book. So, the official either *didn't* lose sight of it or Ward's skate crossed the goal line before the official realized he had lost sight of it.
— Michael Smith (@MichaelSmithNC) March 22, 2018
Either way, weird goal. #ARIvsCAR pic.twitter.com/N3rdXgRnQP
Either way, one of the strangest goals in recent memory counted in a game few were probably watching to begin with.
It’s probably safe to assume Ward (and goalies around the NHL) are going to find some way as to not let that happen again.
Update:
Ward admitted that giving up a goal like that bothered him.
“I’ve had some bad bounces throughout my career but I think certainly that tops the list,” Ward said, per the Charlotte News & Observer. “I can sit here and pretend it didn’t bother me but it did bother me.
“I mean, you battle all season long, you compete, and then a bounce like that happens (and) it doesn’t seem fair at the time. But the guys competed and capitalized on our opportunities. It wasn’t exactly a goaltending battle, both ways, out there.”
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck