The Blackhawks Somehow Managed To Not Score Here

Major weirdness in the closing seconds of overtime in what would turn out a 3-2 shootout win for the Coyotes in Chicago, as the Blackhawks had two sterling chances—one of which I'm still not convinced wasn't in—get waved off, one of them even surviving a video review.

Andrew Shaw's shot was saved by Mike Smith, but the rebound hurdled the goalie and settled right on the goal line. The crowd went nuts, and some Hawks put their arms in the air, but play continued—Smith had apparently fished it out just in time. Play continued, with Brandon Saad donking another great chance off the crossbar, and as the clock expired, they went to the replay to see if they'd need to bother with the shootout. Here's what they saw in Toronto:

Remember, it's got to be conclusive. So, technically, there's no angle that shows daylight between the puck and the goal line. But this feels like one of those plays where unless the law of inertia was temporarily and locally suspended for the split second Smith's stick and glove block our view, it can't not have crossed the line. Smith wasn't sure, either.

"I didn't know," Smith said. "I knew it was real close. It was the biggest scramble of the season, for sure, by me. I couldn't believe the puck, the spin it had on to get there. It was kind of desperation, and I know it was going to be real close. I just tried to get my glove, stick, everything I could to get there.

During the review, Dave Tippett and Joel Quenneville shared some good-natured jawing:

"I looked down there and I was just kind of laughing at him [and said], 'No goal,' and he was laughing back," Tippett said of Quenneville. "That's close, though. Not just that goal. There was another rebound that hit [Smith's] stick and then [Saad] hits the crossbar right after that. Entertainment at its finest right there."

"No goal" was the call, and the Coyotes won with shootout conversions from Lucas Lessio and Antoine Vermette, the first of which broke Arizona's 0-for-9 shootout drought. The climactic stretch capped off a stellar night for Smith, a rare bright spot in what's been a nightmare season for him. But no worries, even if he can never find his form again: he's just got another four years and $24 million left on that huge extension.