NHL goalie leaves everyone in disbelief after bizarre own goal
Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward got himself in position to make the save.
But in doing so, he actually put the puck in the net.
While that doesn’t seem to make much sense upon first read, it also didn’t make much sense to those who witnessed it in person during a Thursday game where the Hurricanes defeated the Arizona Coyotes, 6-5.
The bizarre sequence took place in the first period with Carolina ahead 2-0. Arizona’s Alex Alex Goligoski fired the puck along the boards and behind the Arizona goal.
Ward went behind the goal to play the puck, then bounced back in front of the net, planting his right skate slightly behind the goal line as he prepared to defend a potential shot.
There was no shot, but there was a goal.
I mean, Are You Serious, Bro?!?! pic.twitter.com/QC6qayOUBq
— Bally Sports: Canes (@CanesOnBally) March 22, 2018
When Ward went behind the net, he did not realize the puck had become trapped in his right skate blade. When he positioned himself to make the save, the skate — and puck embedded within — crossed the goal line. The officials, following video review, awarded Arizona the goal, cutting Carolina’s lead to 2-1.
“I’ve had some bad bounces throughout my career but I think certainly that tops the list,” Ward told the Raleigh 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.”
Hurricanes coach Bill Peters was also left shaking his head.
“That’s a first — got to be a first,” Peters said of Ward’s own goal, per ESPN. “It was one of those where you’re shaking your head, wondering ‘What else? What’s next?'”
Fans on Twitter could not believe the call stood as a goal.
https://twitter.com/stephenmadonna/status/977140465597337602
https://twitter.com/Tiberious_Nero/status/977155728103411712
According to NHL rules, “Should a scramble take place or a player accidentally fall on the puck and the puck be out of sight of the referee, he shall immediately blow his whistle and stop the play. The puck shall then be faced-off at the nearest face-off spot in the zone where the play was stopped unless otherwise provided for in the rules.”
It seems pretty clear cut that the call should have been “no goal.” But the question is, when did the officials lose track of the puck. If it happens after it’s already crossed the goal line, then there’s not much they can do about it.
“Upon review of the play, the puck is caught in the goaltender’s skate. His skate crosses the line completely. So we have a goal,” referee Dan O’Rourke said of the video ruling.
Despite the win, Carolina still faces long odds in its quest to make the playoffs. The Hurricanes are seven points out of the final Eastern Conference wild card spot with just eight games remaining.
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