Wow, this is a topic that fans are going to talk about for a long time.
Since the game didn’t have a winner after regular time in Game 4, both teams had to play overtime, and that’s when things got complicated. At 2 minutes and 29 seconds into overtime, Ryan Poehling from the Ducks scored by putting the puck into the Oilers’ net, and the referees decided it was a good goal while it happened.
Game 4 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks just ended in a big debate after the NHL referees made a decision that nobody seems to understand, a decision that changed the result of the game.
This is where the debate starts because many people have noticed that there was no official behind the net who could accurately tell if the puck had really crossed the line.
Kevin Bieksa, a former NHL player who was with Friedman on the panel, also questioned the referees’ decisions during the game.
“He didn’t make a clear call right away,” Bieksa said while pointing to the referees’ actions when the goal happened. “He seemed unsure and said, ‘I need a moment to think,’ then they all gathered together… and after that, they decided it was a goal. ”
“I have a problem with this because I don’t get how they could say that… there wasn’t an official behind the net,” said NHL expert Elliotte Friedman during the post-game show. “How can you be sure that the puck completely crossed the line? ”
The referees were given a bird’s eye view that seems to indicate the puck went past the goal line. Still, they cannot be sure about it because the skate of the Oilers goalie, Tristan Jarry, is blocking their view. If the referees, who clearly couldn’t see the puck cross the line, hadn’t quickly decided it was a goal, the result might have turned out quite differently.
You can look at a picture that shows where the referees were positioned here:
Do you think the Oilers were cheated? Were the referees correct in their decision? Share your thoughts on this very debated moment in the comments.
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