Deciding Controversial Kick at the Goal Line Becomes a Hot Topic for Hockey World

Strange things happen on the ice in the NHL, in the heat of the moment. They might be a product of pure chance or could be wilful orchestrations of the players. And if something appears to be done on purpose, any call surrounding that act becomes a highly controversial topic. A similar thing happened with the Buffalo Sabres when they played against the New York Islanders.

The Buffalo Sabres are having a hard season, and it was made even tougher because of a bizarre call they had to face during a game against the New York Islanders. The Sabres suffered a loss to the New York Islanders in UBS Arena with a score of 3-2. While the loss itself is difficult, the circumstances it took place in, made things even harsher for the Sabres.

Controversial goal by the Islanders leaves the Sabres in the dust

With 12:23 minutes of gameplay left, Hudson Fasching of the New York Islanders scored a goal against the Buffalo Sabres. Two things are contentious about this situation. The first one is the most obvious- the fact that Fasching used to play for the Sabres at one point in time before he was traded to the Islanders. The second one is the fact, that the goal scored by Fasching, did not involve his stick connecting with the puck in any manner.

In fact, it was his leg that did the heavy lifting. It almost seemed like the Islander intentionally kicked the puck into the goal, which is, of course, an absolute no-no. Hudson Fasching was standing to the right of the Sabre’s goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, when Fasching’s teammate, Josh Bailey, deflected the puck toward him. Fasching then lifted his left skate and extended his leg. The move appeared to be a distinct kicking motion intended to redirect the puck.

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The puck came in contact with Fasching’s leg right below the knee but did not touch the skate. After the contact, it sailed into the net past a stunned Luukkonen. The goalie immediately signaled that the goal should be waved off. However, fate had other plans and the goal became the winning goal of the night.

NHL referee’s call gets overturned and controversy erupts

When the goal took place, the referee Chris Rooney gave the call that it was a no-goal. However, Toronto overturned the referee’s call and gave the goal to Fasching on the ground that it did not touch his skate. The Buffalo Sabers were stunned, but they had to take their defeat with a pinch of salt.

According to rule 78.5 of the NHL rulebook, “When the puck has been directed, batted or thrown into the net by an attacking player other than with a stick … if it is deemed to be done deliberately, then the decision shall be NO GOAL. A goal cannot be scored when the puck has been deliberately batted with any part of the attacking player’s body into the net.” However, the Situation Room responded that the rule did not apply because there seemed to be no deliberate motion on Fasching’s part.

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After watching the video, do you think Fasching knowingly kicked the puck into the net or was it an accident? If it was really an accident, it was definitely a very lucky one.