The most thrilling series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ opening round just got longer, and more complicated.
With Game 6 knotted at one goal apiece and both the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings pressing for that all-important go-ahead marker in the third period, clutch Kings forward Justin Williams tipped a Robyn Regehr point shot that trickled through goaltender Alex Stalock’s pads but stopped short of the goal line. The puck was loose but nestled safe between Stalock’s feet.
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Then Williams jabbed his stick at Stalock’s pads in a second effort, pushing the rookie back into his net and the puck along with it.
His eyes on the loose puck, referee Chris Lee never blew his whistle at any point. He motioned “good goal.”
“We got cheated,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said after the game, perhaps inviting the league to fine him. “Simple as that. I was told that you could see the puck laying behind his feet the whole time.”
McLellan maintained the Sharks couldn’t see the puck on video review; Kings coach Darryl Sutter believed replays showed the puck was loose.
“That was obviously the turning point,” said McLellan, who watched his team surrender two more goals and, consequently, a 3-0 series lead.
“It was still,” Stalock said of the puck. “Something had to be done for the puck to be moved into the net.”
That something was clearly Williams’ jabbing Stalock backwards. But Lee’s eyes were fixed on the puck, not Williams’ illegal action.
“Maybe we got a break, maybe we didn’t,” Williams said. “But nobody blew the whistle.”
The goal was ruled good after Lee announced, “It was not a reviewable play.”
But NHL Rule 69.6 speaks precisely to these types of loose-puck situations:
In the event that a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puck by an attacking player after making a stop, the goal will be disallowed. If applicable, appropriate penalties will be assessed.
In the event that the puck is under a player in or around the crease area (deliberately or otherwise), a goal cannot be scored by pushing this player together with the puck into the goal.
Regardless, the Sharks will have a third crack at closing out the pesky Kings, and their second such chance at home, on Wednesday. Game 7 is set for a 10 p.m. ET start.
Only three teams in NHL history have come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series. If the Kings complete the unthinkable, the Curse of the San Jose Sharks will have another chapter.
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