Another busy night in the NHL, another goal that makes you stand up and say, “Did you see that?” — and not in a good way.
With the Tampa Bay Lightning leading the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 and less than two minutes remaining on the clock, Lightning defenceman Matt Carle passes the puck from centre ice back into his own zone — but the puck deflects off the heel of teammate Radko Gudas’ stick and beats their own goalie, Ben Bishop. It took a minute to realize which Chicago player last touched the puck; Jonathan Toews was awarded a nice stats-padder.
Tie game, 5-5.
“I honestly can’t recall a goal as strange as that that I can sit here and say I was behind the bench for,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “I don’t even know if the 18,000 people here knew how that went in.”
Steven Stamkos, who had scored to give his team the lead, was just as confused.
“I didn’t really know what happened,” he said. “I was coming off the ice and I heard the place erupt and I heard their fans cheering. I looked and saw the puck in our net and Bishop looking puzzled.”
Mercifully, Martin St. Louis would score in overtime for the Lightning to save the victory, but the Blackhawks did steal a standings point from Tampa’s sloppiness.
The Lightning’s crazy misplay joins a litany of gaffes and screw-ups that have resulted in ugly goals this young season.
To recap: There was the shorthanded goal Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick allowed from the length of the ice…
Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Jonathan Bernier’s “I thought it was icing” moment, which resulted in a game-winner…
Winnipeg Jets defenceman Zack Bogosian’s gift-wrapping one for the Anaheim Ducks’ Corey Perry…
And the Vancouver Canucks defence leaving Roberto “It Wasn’t Me” Luongo out to dry:
[polldaddy poll=7506925]