Talk about the end game of inches.
League officials needed to zoom in on the video and look at it frame by frame to determine that Sam Reinhart was a fraction of a skateblade offside during the review that ultimately took Alexander Barkov’s goal off the scoreboard on Friday night.
This was not just any goal. This is the play that changed the course of Game 6 and could cause an upset for the Panthers if they let this series slip away after leading 3-0.
“You’re looking for a great start at that point,” Florida coach Paul Morris said, reflecting on an offside review after his team’s 5–1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. “It definitely must have been a spark for us.”
Barkov silenced Rogers Place briefly when he beat Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner at 19:04 of the second period – a huge reaction 10 seconds after Adam Henrique’s score put Edmonton ahead 2–0. Gave. When Barkov finished that run the public address announcer didn’t even get a chance to call Henrique’s goal.
The Panthers’ response goal is challenged as an offside play. After review, the goal has been overturned.
This is the fourth offside challenge of the playoffs (not including Hockey Ops) – the Coaches are now 3-1.
Knoblauch + EDM staff went 4-0 in the regular season with offside challenges. pic.twitter.com/EfGayGpFEs
– Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) 22 June 2024
However, Oilers video coach Noah Segal radioed assistant coach Mark Stuart on the bench and began a review because he felt Reinhart had gained the offensive zone just before teammate Carter Verhaeghe took the puck to the blue line. .
It was a big call, especially for Segal, who is in his second NHL season and first as the No. 1 video coach for the Oilers.
Had the review gone against the Oilers, Edmonton would have been fined a minor fine for delaying the game. The team trusted the video coach to make the right calls, and it paid off.
“I really didn’t think it was that close,” Oilers head coach Chris Knobloch said. “We were going to call it right away. The only hesitation was that it probably wasn’t the right video. In my mind, it was definitely counterintuitive, but I guess you never know. This was something we immediately wanted to challenge as soon as we saw it.”
On the opposite bench, Maurice lost his mind when it was ruled offside. He cursed at the officials and later said he would not have challenged the game if the situation had been reversed based on the video provided to him on the Panthers bench.
Morris said, “I thought there was no way you could say conclusively that it was offside.” “I don’t know what the Oilers get (the replay angle). I don’t know what the league gets. All I know is that I would not have challenged him based on what I saw.
“I am not saying it is not offside. We’ll still get the frames. We will bring in the CIA. we’ll figure it out. But the 30 seconds I would have had to make that call, I would not have challenged.”
One of the linesmen told Morris that this was the last clip the officials saw during review that confirmed to them that Reinhart had entered the zone one second before the puck.
Game of inches (or maybe less) 👀 pic.twitter.com/wcL2Tb7uQO
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) 22 June 2024
No Panthers players were known to have any problems in real time.
“I had no idea, no,” Verhaeghe said.
“Not in real time, but I think it was offside,” Barkov said. “So that’s it.”
They fell behind the Oilers 11-2 in the first period, but felt a boost when their captain made a big play. It was hard to swallow when that goal was taken off the board and Edmonton eventually made it 3-0 on Zack Hyman’s breakaway strike before the second intermission.
Given the circumstances and situation the Panthers are in to potentially win the Stanley Cup, this was easily one of the biggest coach’s challenge reviews since the NHL implemented this rule in 2015.
But we should probably get used to it because the league’s general managers have proposed expanding the number of situations that can be challenged and reviewed during the March meeting, including instances where a player Is penalized for a high-sticking violation or for shooting the puck over. Glass by your side.
In other words, we’ll be getting more video reviews, not less, in the coming years.
That kind of challenge was not available to either team until perhaps the most infamous goal in Stanley Cup Finals history: when Brett Hull scored in triple overtime to give the Dallas Stars a series-clinching victory over Buffalo during the 1999 Finals , while his leg was visible. Stay in the crease, which was against NHL rules at the time.
Depending on how Game 7 plays out Monday night, the Panthers may ultimately face Barkov’s goal in Game 6 and the question of “what if?” With this in mind, we can consider the upcoming offside review.
Although he believed that the league ultimately made the right decision on the game, he did not hide his disdain towards the fact that it was something that could have happened after a sequence that was unrecognizable to any of the four officials. . Snow in real time.
“I mean, it sucks that it didn’t go our way, but it’s over my head,” Verhaeghe said. “He obviously gets the right call. I am sure if they are watching a million replays then it is the right decision.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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