Another night, another controversial offside review in the NHL.
Hours after the league admitted an overturned goal from Thursday's action should have counted, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to have been on the wrong end of another challenge.
The goal was scored by Daniel Sedin, on a play where it appeared as though Jake Virtanen was clearly offside.
The Sabres challenged the call, resulting in a lengthy review.
From time referee announced challenge to time he announced good goal, Canucks' offside review took 4:27. Felt much longer at first.
For the record, here's the official explanation from the NHL:
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Linesman, NHL Hockey Operations staff confirmed that Vancouver's Jake Virtanen had possession and control of the puck as he entered the attacking zone prior to the goal. 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 Vancouver Canucks.
The explanation, however, did not help.
After the referee announced it was a goal, a more enhanced replay was shown on the big board that made it seem otherwise.
In order for the deal to be officially completed, Detroit must do some roster shuffling to come in under the salary cap, as McKenzie points out the club would not be cap compliant if the deal were to be inked today.
Athanasiou's contract saga had been one of the more talked-about storylines of the NHL's offseason, and until Ken Holland and Co. can work some magic with their lineup, expect it to drag on a little while longer.
McKenzie also notes the team will be looking to make a move in the coming days in an attempt to dump salary, and that a potential deal could involve Riley Sheahan and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are currently looking to add depth up the middle.
AA finished the 2016-17 campaign with 29 points in 64 games, and could be practicing with the team as early as next week if Detroit can quickly sort out its current cap crunch dilemma.
The incident occurred 6:13 into the first period of Thursday night's game. Gudbranson was assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. The Bruins would go on to score three times while forward Jake Virtanen served the penalty.
Vatrano escaped serious injury and remained in the game.
Gudbranson's suspension means he will miss Friday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, but will be eligible to return on Sunday when the Canucks visit the Detroit Red Wings.
Athanasiou is a restricted free agent who failed to come to terms with the Red Wings over the summer. He's missed the first seven games of the regular season while negotiating.
The forward's camp and the team had several conversations this week, including a conference call that included both Athanasiou and head coach Jeff Blashill, according to Custance.
He'll apparently be promised a top-nine role with regular time on both the power play and penalty kill, along with an increase in overall ice time.
It likely won't be much consolation for the Colorado Avalanche, but the NHL has reportedly admitted a Colorado goal it nullified should have been allowed to stand.
The league acknowledged and explained its error to TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Friday.
So, what would have been the tying marker for the Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen was challenged by the St. Louis Blues, who felt Sven Andrighetto was offside before the goal was scored.
The NHL's video room in Toronto overturned the call on the ice, citing the fact that Andrighetto was offside.
However, the league later realized that since he wasn't ruled offside by the linesman on the spot - as he should have been - there was technically a second zone entry, and the rule book states that goals can't be nullified based on a subsequent entry into the zone, according to LeBrun.
Had the NHL realized that at the time, the goal would have counted and the Blues would have been assessed a minor penalty as a result of the failed offside challenge.
St. Louis held on for a 4-3 victory Thursday night.
It's been 50 years, but the Toronto Maple Leafs are pegged to be this season's Stanley Cup winners - at least according to oddsmakers.
Bodog released its updated 2018 Stanley Cup odds and the Maple Leafs are leading the pack at 8-1 odds. The team hasn't hoisted the Cup since 1967 - a fact its fans are well aware of.
Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty prefers to lead by example, but he hasn't done a great job of that to begin the season.
The club has an Eastern Conference-worst 1-5-1 record, and Pacioretty has shouldered much of the blame, admitting his play has made it hard to rally teammates.
"That is the challenge … how am I going to go tell my teammates that we got to be better when I’m the worst one on the ice," said Pacioretty, according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. "That's what keeps you up at night … that's what keeps me up at night. Trust me, if you guys think I don’t care you got it all wrong. If anything, I think too much and I care too much."
Since the 2013-14 season, only Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Joe Pavelski have more goals than Pacioretty's 142. He's well aware that goal-scoring is his greatest asset - even though he has just one goal through seven games - and is why he suggests the best way to get his team back on track is to start scoring goals.
"I'm worried about my game personally, but numbers-wise I know I help the team by scoring goals and by producing offence and I know it’s not there and I take full responsibility for that every time that that’s the case," Paciorety said. "But no one's going to get me or the team out of this other than myself and ourselves."
Luckily for the Canadiens, time is on their side. With 75 games remaining, more than 91 percent of the regular season is still to be played, but the fact remains, the deeper the hole, the higher they'll need to climb.
Duncan Keith was the primary victim of McDavid's mastery, and Brent Seabrook also had a primo seat for the spectacle, making the play all the more impressive.
Let's take a look at exactly how he did it.
It begins with Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto controlling the puck along the boards and eyeing McDavid up the middle.
Yamamoto feeds McDavid, who carries the puck out of the Oilers' defensive zone.
As McDavid enters the offensive zone, he's met by Keith, with Seabrook backing him up while also monitoring Maroon.
Let's switch to the aerial view now, because this is where the fun really begins.
McDavid has a step on Keith, so Seabrook comes over to provide help.
The Oilers superstar turns his back to Keith and protects the puck.
McDavid continues pivoting with Keith squaring him up, while Maroon quietly sneaks down low with his defender preoccupied.
Suddenly, McDavid swings the puck out behind both his body and Keith's imposing frame.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he flings the puck across the crease to Maroon, who has a virtually wide-open cage.
Maroon taps in one of the easiest goals he'll ever score.
Let's zoom in for another look, because we can.
It's hard to believe McDavid found his way out of this.
Keith and Seabrook look like they have him boxed in.
But that's when McDavid's body control and uncanny hands separate him, literally, from the competition.
There's no way Keith saw this coming.
Maroon is barely even in the picture, but somehow, McDavid knows he'll be there.
And he is.
Too easy.
There was nothing simple about McDavid's tremendous effort to set up the goal, though.
The MVP made something out of nothing and single-handedly created what will certainly be remembered as one of the plays of the season.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This edition focuses on Olie Kolzig, who won 303 regular-season games over parts of 17 NHL seasons, along with the 2000 Vezina Trophy.
What he remembers from his first NHL game:
My first NHL game was in 1989 in Hartford, Connecticut. I had a great training camp, and I was told I was starting in Hartford, facing Mike Liut. I felt really good going into the game, obviously really nervous ... and by the end of the first period, we were down 3-0. It wasn't the greatest start. (laughs)
It wasn't like they were bad goals against, but having said that, I don't think I made any big saves, either. But (Capitals head coach) Bryan Murray kept me in the net, I had a much better second period, and we closed to 3-2. They ended up getting one in the third period to make it 4-2, and we scored near the end to make it respectable. Overall, I got some good reviews.
The second game was more memorable, though. It was at Maple Leaf Gardens. We were up 4-1 about halfway through the second period; I was playing really well. I grew up in Toronto, so I watched a number of games at Maple Leaf Gardens. So I was feeling good. And we ended up losing the game 8-4 - and two days later, I was on my way back to junior. (laughs)
When he realized he belonged in the NHL:
There were a lot of fleeting moments where I thought I belonged before reality checked back in. But I would say (the turning point) was the 1997-98 training camp. The previous year we traded Jim Carey to Boston for Bill Ranford. And Bill and I had a great training camp together; we were probably equal, but he was the experienced veteran, so he was the starter going into the season.
We were in Toronto for our opener, and I think we were up 5-0 or 5-1 after the first. During that period, Bill had taken a shot in the groin. He was complaining about it, and after the intermission, he couldn't go back out; his testicles had started to swell up a little bit. So obviously I went in.
Despite having a great training camp and that the last time I was in Toronto was years ago, I still had a little bit of doubt. But I had a great game, I ended up preserving the lead, and we ended up winning 7-1. And I think from that moment, I exorcised a lot of demons from Toronto. And because Bill was out for a while, and I continued my great play from training camp, the rest was history.
The best trash talkers he encountered:
Sean Avery might be on everybody's list, at least for modern-day goalies. Kevin Kaminski, my teammate in Washington, was pretty vocal on the bench and on the ice - stirred up a lot of crap. Joe Reekie, a defenseman on my team, was quite a talker; he'd make you laugh quite a bit.
Matthew Barnaby was also good. And I played with Barney in Rochester the year that we went to the Calder Cup finals. But in the Eastern Conference finals in 1998, he was on an all-time roll. He was obviously trying to get me off my game, and despite us being friends, he didn't hold back.
I think with guys like that, it's originality. Anybody can say the given lines, but when you're original and you're not crossing the line ... there's a few guys who cross the line, and brawls start because of that. But if you're original and you make the other guy think, that's a real talent. Barney definitely had that.
His most memorable referee story:
I tended to get along with most officials. I found if they were on your side, you'd get the benefit of the call most of the time.
A real bad one, and it wasn't meant to happen, but ... it was in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s. We were just getting smoked. And I remember Ryan Malone had a breakaway on me and scored; it was near the end of the game, and I ended up on my back.
I turned around to fish the puck out of the net with my glove, and without even looking, I just threw the puck toward center ice. And at the same time, Pat Dapuzzo - who was an absolutely great guy, an official most players got along with - he happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. And I absolutely smoked him with the puck. I think I broke his nose, and he left the game.
I think I got a lot of grief from linesmen probably for the next month or two, but I reached out to Patty and made sure that he knew it obviously wasn't intentional, and he knew it wasn't. That's probably the most interactive I've been with an official.
His biggest save:
Probably Game 6 against Buffalo in the conference finals. It was overtime; there was a two-on-one, and I forget who took the shot, but it was probably from the top of the circles, and I made a right pad save, and the rebound went to my right, and I can't remember who was coming down but the puck ended up right on his tape.
He took a shot and I just reacted, came across and got my right toe on it to make another save; he had a wide-open empty net. And I want to say that a couple of minutes later, we went down and Joe Juneau put the overtime winner in to get us into the finals.
The most underrated player of his era:
Alex Semin. The guy was considered a great player, but I don't think people realize how good he was. I think legitimately he was more talented than (Alex Ovechkin). He had a snap shot ... the way he changed the angle, it was heavy. He was a very hard player to stop.
Unfortunately, I don't think he had the drive or the motivation that Ovie had. As a result, people didn't get to see the true Alex Semin.
The time he lost his mind in the dressing room:
I think it was '96, '97, sometime around then. Jim Carey had become the No. 1 guy, and at that point, I was given numerous chances to take over that job. And for whatever reason, whether it was self-inflicted or the team didn't play well, I just never grasped the spot.
We were in Edmonton; we had struggled in Calgary the night before, so I got the start in Edmonton. And we were down 2-1 with (less than) two minutes left in the second period, and they scored on a power play where the puck was ramped by my own player about 10 feet in front of me, and went right over my shoulder and into the net.
We came into the locker room, and I didn't think anything of it at the time. Obviously you don't want to give up a goal that late, especially when it's a one-goal game. And I remember our coach, Jim Schoenfeld, he was very emotional and upset because we gave up the late goal. And he said to Jim, "Ace, you're going in. I need one of you two guys to stop the puck."
Schoenie went back into the coach's room, and in the old Edmonton locker room the coach's room is right across from the medical room. And I was always known for having a bad temper, and I think things just boiled over on my part. A, I didn't think I deserved to be pulled, and B, with everything that happened in my career, it just looked like another failed opportunity.
So I went berzerk in the locker room. There's a big cement pillar that's off to the left before you go into the medical room, and I just teed off on it with my goalie stick. I think the biggest piece I had left of my goalie stick was a 2-inch piece of the knob. And I went into the medical room and ranted and raved, saying "If you think it's so easy, why don't you go into the net, you big red-headed blank-blank-blank?"
And it dawned on me right then and there that the coach's room is right across from the medical room. And as I said it, Schoenie walked into the coach's room, and at that moment I thought I had played my last NHL game.
To Schoenie's credit, he said, "Hey, Olie, listen. I know you're emotional. I just need to get our guys going. Just take it for what it is and we'll get through this." I couldn't believe it; I had dodged a huge bullet. And from that point on, I really tried to steer my emotions in the proper channels, because that could have been the end of my career.
What he remembers from his last NHL game:
My last NHL game was a lot more pleasant (than the first). It was a win at the Bell Centre when I was playing for Tampa. I went there for one year at the end of my career. The season was ... from a personal standpoint, it wasn't great. I tore my biceps tendon and got put on the shelf in November and was done.
From an organizational standpoint, there was new ownership, new coaching staff, it was Steven Stamkos' first year. Barry Melrose was our coach to start, but he was fired 16 games in. There was a lot of dissension, a lot of stuff that shouldn't have had anything to do with hockey.
We were on a bit of a losing streak, and I remember on the bus, Marty St. Louis came up to me and said, "You think you can win this game for us? We need it." And I said, "Yeah, I love this place. It's my favorite place to play." And I think we won 4-3.
It wasn't my best game by any stretch, but given the circumstances, the situation we were in with the team and that just having that conversation with Marty on the bus ... and again, it was my last NHL game, and it happened to be a win in my favorite building. It definitely stuck out.
Rapid Fire
The best player he ever played with: Alex Ovechkin
The best player he ever played against: Mario Lemieux
The player with the best slap shot: Al Iafrate
The player with the best wrist shot: Jaromir Jagr
The hardest guy to move from in front of the net: Dave Andreychuk
His favorite coach: John Brophy
His favorite road arenas: Bell Centre, Madison Square Garden
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This edition focuses on Olie Kolzig, who won 303 regular-season games over parts of 17 NHL seasons, along with the 2000 Vezina Trophy.
What he remembers from his first NHL game:
My first NHL game was in 1989 in Hartford, Connecticut. I had a great training camp, and I was told I was starting in Hartford, facing Mike Liut. I felt really good going into the game, obviously really nervous ... and by the end of the first period, we were down 3-0. It wasn't the greatest start. (laughs)
It wasn't like they were bad goals against, but having said that, I don't think I made any big saves, either. But (Capitals head coach) Bryan Murray kept me in the net, I had a much better second period, and we closed to 3-2. They ended up getting one in the third period to make it 4-2, and we scored near the end to make it respectable. Overall, I got some good reviews.
The second game was more memorable, though. It was at Maple Leaf Gardens. We were up 4-1 about halfway through the second period; I was playing really well. I grew up in Toronto, so I watched a number of games at Maple Leaf Gardens. So I was feeling good. And we ended up losing the game 8-4 - and two days later, I was on my way back to junior. (laughs)
When he realized he belonged in the NHL:
There were a lot of fleeting moments where I thought I belonged before reality checked back in. But I would say (the turning point) was the 1997-98 training camp. The previous year we traded Jim Carey to Boston for Bill Ranford. And Bill and I had a great training camp together; we were probably equal, but he was the experienced veteran, so he was the starter going into the season.
We were in Toronto for our opener, and I think we were up 5-0 or 5-1 after the first. During that period, Bill had taken a shot in the groin. He was complaining about it, and after the intermission, he couldn't go back out; his testicles had started to swell up a little bit. So obviously I went in.
Despite having a great training camp and that the last time I was in Toronto was years ago, I still had a little bit of doubt. But I had a great game, I ended up preserving the lead, and we ended up winning 7-1. And I think from that moment, I exorcised a lot of demons from Toronto. And because Bill was out for a while, and I continued my great play from training camp, the rest was history.
The best trash talkers he encountered:
Sean Avery might be on everybody's list, at least for modern-day goalies. Kevin Kaminski, my teammate in Washington, was pretty vocal on the bench and on the ice - stirred up a lot of crap. Joe Reekie, a defenseman on my team, was quite a talker; he'd make you laugh quite a bit.
Matthew Barnaby was also good. And I played with Barney in Rochester the year that we went to the Calder Cup finals. But in the Eastern Conference finals in 1998, he was on an all-time roll. He was obviously trying to get me off my game, and despite us being friends, he didn't hold back.
I think with guys like that, it's originality. Anybody can say the given lines, but when you're original and you're not crossing the line ... there's a few guys who cross the line, and brawls start because of that. But if you're original and you make the other guy think, that's a real talent. Barney definitely had that.
His most memorable referee story:
I tended to get along with most officials. I found if they were on your side, you'd get the benefit of the call most of the time.
A real bad one, and it wasn't meant to happen, but ... it was in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s. We were just getting smoked. And I remember Ryan Malone had a breakaway on me and scored; it was near the end of the game, and I ended up on my back.
I turned around to fish the puck out of the net with my glove, and without even looking, I just threw the puck toward center ice. And at the same time, Pat Dapuzzo - who was an absolutely great guy, an official most players got along with - he happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. And I absolutely smoked him with the puck. I think I broke his nose, and he left the game.
I think I got a lot of grief from linesmen probably for the next month or two, but I reached out to Patty and made sure that he knew it obviously wasn't intentional, and he knew it wasn't. That's probably the most interactive I've been with an official.
His biggest save:
Probably Game 6 against Buffalo in the conference finals. It was overtime; there was a two-on-one, and I forget who took the shot, but it was probably from the top of the circles, and I made a right pad save, and the rebound went to my right, and I can't remember who was coming down but the puck ended up right on his tape.
He took a shot and I just reacted, came across and got my right toe on it to make another save; he had a wide-open empty net. And I want to say that a couple of minutes later, we went down and Joe Juneau put the overtime winner in to get us into the finals.
The most underrated player of his era:
Alex Semin. The guy was considered a great player, but I don't think people realize how good he was. I think legitimately he was more talented than (Alex Ovechkin). He had a snap shot ... the way he changed the angle, it was heavy. He was a very hard player to stop.
Unfortunately, I don't think he had the drive or the motivation that Ovie had. As a result, people didn't get to see the true Alex Semin.
The time he lost his mind in the dressing room:
I think it was '96, '97, sometime around then. Jim Carey had become the No. 1 guy, and at that point, I was given numerous chances to take over that job. And for whatever reason, whether it was self-inflicted or the team didn't play well, I just never grasped the spot.
We were in Edmonton; we had struggled in Calgary the night before, so I got the start in Edmonton. And we were down 2-1 with (less than) two minutes left in the second period, and they scored on a power play where the puck was ramped by my own player about 10 feet in front of me, and went right over my shoulder and into the net.
We came into the locker room, and I didn't think anything of it at the time. Obviously you don't want to give up a goal that late, especially when it's a one-goal game. And I remember our coach, Jim Schoenfeld, he was very emotional and upset because we gave up the late goal. And he said to Jim, "Ace, you're going in. I need one of you two guys to stop the puck."
Schoenie went back into the coach's room, and in the old Edmonton locker room the coach's room is right across from the medical room. And I was always known for having a bad temper, and I think things just boiled over on my part. A, I didn't think I deserved to be pulled, and B, with everything that happened in my career, it just looked like another failed opportunity.
So I went berzerk in the locker room. There's a big cement pillar that's off to the left before you go into the medical room, and I just teed off on it with my goalie stick. I think the biggest piece I had left of my goalie stick was a 2-inch piece of the knob. And I went into the medical room and ranted and raved, saying "If you think it's so easy, why don't you go into the net, you big red-headed blank-blank-blank?"
And it dawned on me right then and there that the coach's room is right across from the medical room. And as I said it, Schoenie walked into the coach's room, and at that moment I thought I had played my last NHL game.
To Schoenie's credit, he said, "Hey, Olie, listen. I know you're emotional. I just need to get our guys going. Just take it for what it is and we'll get through this." I couldn't believe it; I had dodged a huge bullet. And from that point on, I really tried to steer my emotions in the proper channels, because that could have been the end of my career.
What he remembers from his last NHL game:
My last NHL game was a lot more pleasant (than the first). It was a win at the Bell Centre when I was playing for Tampa. I went there for one year at the end of my career. The season was ... from a personal standpoint, it wasn't great. I tore my biceps tendon and got put on the shelf in November and was done.
From an organizational standpoint, there was new ownership, new coaching staff, it was Steven Stamkos' first year. Barry Melrose was our coach to start, but he was fired 16 games in. There was a lot of dissension, a lot of stuff that shouldn't have had anything to do with hockey.
We were on a bit of a losing streak, and I remember on the bus, Marty St. Louis came up to me and said, "You think you can win this game for us? We need it." And I said, "Yeah, I love this place. It's my favorite place to play." And I think we won 4-3.
It wasn't my best game by any stretch, but given the circumstances, the situation we were in with the team and that just having that conversation with Marty on the bus ... and again, it was my last NHL game, and it happened to be a win in my favorite building. It definitely stuck out.
Rapid Fire
The best player he ever played with: Alex Ovechkin
The best player he ever played against: Mario Lemieux
The player with the best slap shot: Al Iafrate
The player with the best wrist shot: Jaromir Jagr
The hardest guy to move from in front of the net: Dave Andreychuk
His favorite coach: John Brophy
His favorite road arenas: Bell Centre, Madison Square Garden
