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Reactions: Phantom goal CNNSI.com users debate the mysterious score
Posted: Monday April 17, 2000 04:44 PM
Philadelphia Flyer John LeClair's goal that shouldn't have been -- through the mesh of the net and not through Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek -- helped the Flyers beat the Sabres 2-1 Friday night. Should it have been allowed? Should the game have been replayed from the point of the goal? CNNSI.com users gave their thoughts on the issue and a collection of the responses received follows: People are saying that the Flyers and Sabres should replay the game? C'mon, have you ever seen a bad call in football, basketball, or baseball result in a replayed game? SI's Kennedy said that the league is acting amateurish, but they are actually acting the same as every other professional organization in the U.S. Replay the game? Has never happened, and won't ever happen!
Just like the Dallas vistory last spring, the NHL is not willing correct mistakes. LeClair's goal should be disallowed. Game 2 of the series should be played from the point when the goal was not valid, starting with a face-off outside the zone. There is no excuse, none whatsoever, for the NHL to hand the game (and series) to a large market team. Buffalo squeeked into the playoffs, but they have every right to expect decent officiating, especially in light of last year's travesty.
I watched the game live and I can understand how the on ice officials and the video replay officials missed the Phantom Goal at first blush. However, what I cannot understand is why, upon further video analysis as supplied by a major sports network, the goal was not nullified as soon as this knowledge became available. Why can't a goal be nullified upon further review, even if the puck has dropped in the interim? Players are sometimes awarded credit for goals and assists in between periods after the officials have sorted out which player actually earned assist or goal. Why should this be any different? Allowing the phantom goal to stand was an egregious injustice to the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL should be ashamed.
Great teams win through adversity and bad luck, like the Flyers did all season. Great teams don't whine about bad goals, they win championships in spite of them.
This is ridiculous. This is also the second time it's happened to Sabres. The ONLY possible (and indeed, only acceptable) course of action to take (which, knowing the league, won't be taken) is to restart the game from the time at which the phantom goal happened. How they let this goal stand in the first place baffles me.
Sure, a phantom goal should never happen in the era of replay. But all the calls for "replay the game" or "start again from the point of the phantom goal" are wrong, very wrong. Everyone agrees the NHL screwed up--how can you not? But this is not the first or last time something like this will happen in a game--a blatantly missed penalty call, a kicked puck, a goal scored with a player in the crease. Unfortunately for fans in Buffalo, its part of the game. Hockey is not an exact science--and if it were they wouldn't be watching, because without the drama and controversy it would be BORING. If this game should be replayed, so should game 6 of the 1980 Finals, when Leon Stickle didn't make an obvious offsides call against Bobby Nystrom and the Islanders. That call gave the Islanders a goal and possibly lost the Cup for Philadelphia. A sore spot for Flyers fans? No doubt. Stickle was booed every time he officiated a game in Philadelphia, until he retired. But part of the game? Absolutely. And how about this--even without that goal, the game is still 1-1. The Sabres could have made this controversy disappear by scoring more than one pathetic goal in the game. They can't expect to go too far scoring one goal per game. Maybe they should focus their efforts there on Sunday, instead of crying about spilt milk.
The goal wasn't a goal. The Flyers should admit it and offer a replay, especially seeing as they are the top seed in the East. If they are that worried they might not win, then they don't belong here anyway.
I am neither a Buffalo nor Philly fan but I find the circus around this series too interesting to miss. As far as this goal goes, I find it hard to sympathize with these "hard luck" Sabres. Each year they sneak into the playoffs, have a good run, and do so with a lot of lucky breaks. On the other hand Philadelphia is a "contender" going into the playoffs only to get weighed down in controversy, injury, and horrible luck. Both teams have been to the finals recently and only Philly has really paid thier dues so while this particular incident is a terrible mistake, it happened to a team that deserves to get bounced in the first round. Maybe if we put our faith back in the officials, loose the replay all together, then when mistakes happen we can all yell at the ref and get on with the game. I supposed before the replay, controversial mistake goals were never allowed to stand...right?
One year later, not much has changed. Hockey continues to be the best game with the worst league. Certainly officiating, especially in a fast-paced sport such as hockey, will be affected by human error. My question is why the league chose not to take steps to avoid human error by limiting the video goal judge to the two camera angles. When a play is reviewed in the NFL, the official has at his disposal all the angles used by television, so why isn't this the policy in the NHL? There should be no reason that, in a nationally televised game with cameras inside the goal, that the league cannot use these cameras when the cameras would have such a drastic effect on the outcome of the game. If anyone should have access to these angles, it should be the officials, not television. It makes no sense to me why they did not.
Yeesh, does the NHL have some sort of vendetta against the Sabres? For the second time in two years, a heavily-favored team scores a disputable goal on the Sabres, and the NHL just says "whoops, our bad, but sorry, it still counts." It's not that hard to see even from the overhead shot that the goal went in through the outside of the net. The officials really messed up here, and it's not fair to the Sabres, or the rest of the league's teams, for that matter, because if this can happen to Buffalo twice, such travesties can and probably will happen to every team.
Buffalo is an unlucky city. First wide right against the Giants. Last year we had the crease violation that was never called--and should have been since all through the playoffs goals were disallowed on situations like that. Then the Music City Miracle (I'll admit, replay was not conclusive there). Now the side of the net goal. My biggest question is what is so wrong about putting the five minutes back on the clock and playing as if the goal didn't stand? First, there is no rule that says a mistake can't be corrected after the puck is dropped. Secondly, and more importantly, the NHL showed that it really doesn't seem to care that much as to whether or not the correct call was made. They could have made the correct, fair call, but sent a terrible message when they chose not to.
This is a nightmare re-visited!! I am having flashbacks from last year! The Sabres are once again denied. This is a terrible judgement call and does not do anything to renew my respect for the NHL. LeClair's shot went thru the side of the net, not between the posts or under the bar. It was not a goal. Hasek was in position and he knew he was. That goal should not have been allowed.
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