Mystery puck case closed
NHL investigates Methot’s overtime shot and says he just missed the net
Sadly, the OPP won’t be brought in to investigate. There will be no Royal Commission. The hockey conspiracy theorists will have to be content with continuing the discussion on Twitter or elsewhere in cyberspace.
For all the weird and unexplained events that have happened to the Ottawa Senators against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre over the years, the Case Of The Disappearing Puck is over. At least as far as the NHL is concerned.
For those who missed the fun and games following the Senators 3-2 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs Sunday, there was a lively debate about an overtime shot from Marc Methot which narrowly missed the net behind Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Or did it miss?
Inquiring minds suspected something was amiss. The questions were endless. Could the puck have gone inside the post and slipped through the netting? Why was the close call not reviewed at the next whistle? Why was an overhead camera angle missing? Was there a hidden shooter?
On Monday, the NHL investigated all possible angles — well, maybe not the hidden shooter plot — and concluded that Methot’s shot simply missed.
And how about the opinion from the shooter himself? How much did he miss the net by?
“Not much, I don’t think,” said Methot. “I’m going to tell you I didn’t miss by much. It could have been three feet. I thought I had a couple of opportunities. I just couldn’t get it in there.”
Late Monday, Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul offered his thoughts, via twitter.
“I can’t tell to be honest, but I’m sure there (are) better views than I have. If I was on the other side, I can only imagine what I would be saying.”
Even if the NHL had found that Methot’s shot actually went into the net, it’s doubtful anything would have changed. NHL bylaws don’t allow for results to be overturned.
At the very least, the official review saved the NHL from having Easter egg on its face.
In a followup tweet, Lupul said, “if it went in, they should make it right and give them the two points.”