The offside call that overturned Victor Olofsson’s tying goal for the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night shouldn’t have occurred, the National Hockey League admitted Saturday.
In a statement, NHL Senior Executive Vice President Colin Campbell said the call on the ice that Olofsson scored with 56.2 seconds remaining in regulation should have stood. The Sabres made one final push after the goal was overturned, but they were unable to break through in a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers inside KeyBank Center.
“The original call on the ice, ‘good goal,’ should have stood because video replay could not definitively determine that the stick of Buffalo Player Victor Olofsson touched the puck before Rasmus Dahlin tagged up," the statement read. "In instances when video replay cannot definitively determine a play, League policy is to stay with the original call on the ice."
Initially, officials checked the video to ensure the puck crossed the goal line after Olofsson fired a shot from the left-wing circle. Then an on-ice official announced that while Olofsson indeed scored, the NHL's Situation Room was checking to see if there was offside before the goal.
Still images of the sequence show while Dahlin was in the offensive zone when the puck crossed the blue line, he tagged up before Olofsson touched the puck. Therefore, it should not have been offside, yet officials ruled otherwise. When the goal was initially overturned, Sabres coach Don Granato checked to see if it was possible to challenge if Dahlin touched the blue line in time. However, Granato was told the league already made its determination.
Sources told The News that General Manager Kevyn Adams spoke to an official with the league following the game. The mistake likely cost the Sabres at least one point in the standings, and it was Buffalo's 10th loss in 11 games.
"No real reaction," Granato said ahead of the game Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. "It's hard for me to comment on it. You guys asked me about it after the game, and I'm going to tell you my approach to it is you can't play the poor-me card. You just can't. So, whatever happens in a game, you have to move on, and we moved on immediately. ... It happens and we moved on."
