At the end of a season sullied by subjective video review, the NHL's worst nightmare was having a meaningful game influenced by a controversial goal. The league convened emergency midseason meetings in an attempt to prevent such a high-profile headache, but it's done little to quiet the critics.
Enter Saturday's Game 82 between the Avalanche and Blues, a de facto play-in to decide the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie scored on the power play 6:11 into the second period to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead. But Barrie appeared to allow the puck to cross back into the neutral zone before unleashing his shot that beat Jake Allen, drawing a coach's challenge from the the Blues' Mike Yeo. A lengthy review followed.
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Ultimately, the goal was upheld. Due to the failed offside challenge, Colorado returned to the power play, which St. Louis killed off.
This one looks offside. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/8a6lPb2IzU
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) April 8, 2018
In a statement, the NHL said it found insufficient evidence to overturn the call.
At 6:11 of the second period in the Blues/Avalanche game, St. Louis requested a Coach's Challenge to review whether the puck left the attacking zone prior to Tyson Barrie's goal.
After NHL Hockey Operations staff reviewed all available replays and consulted with the Linesman, it was determined there were no definitive replays which showed that the puck left the attacking zone. Therefore, the call on the ice was upheld - good goal Colorado Avalanche.
Since the Coach's Challenge did not result in the original call being overturned, the St. Louis Blues are assessed a minor penalty for delaying the game.
The whole debacle turned out to be inconsecquential to the final result. Colorado went on to win 5-2 in regulation to jump St. Louis and complete their improbable worst-to-first playoff berth in four years turnaround.
