New York Islanders vs Buffalo Sabres And Why I Love Technology

The New York Islanders had a goal credited almost a full minute after it went in. Say what you want but thank God for technology.

Last night the New York Islanders were down 2-1 with just a minute to go in regulation. Against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres. A team that has won but nine games so far this season.

The New York Islanders needed this win if they’re going to try and create some separation between them and the teams chasing them in the Group of Death that is the Metropolitan Division.

As the Islanders poured on the pressure late on you can sense that even the crowd knew how important the game was. And then the puck comes to Josh Bailey who seems to make no mistake from the right faceoff dot.

Except Robin Lehner gets an outstretched mit to the puck and seems to keep it out of the net.

Video Replay To The Rescue

The call on the ice was that Robin Lehner kept the puck out of the net. So play continued. But with just seconds left in regulation, the game was stopped as the New York Islanders continued to search for a game-tieing goal.

There wasn’t a delayed penalty on the call. There wasn’t a delayed offside call. The refs stopped the play because a review of the “goal” had been completed by Toronto.

Here’s a look at the “goal” from Toronto’s perspective. Looking at it from this angle there’s no way that this isn’t a definite goal. Unless you’re Robin Lehner (I’ll get to that).

After the refs got a view of that angle, the call on the ice was overturned and the Islanders were credited with a goal. And then Mathew Barzal did his thing in overtime.

Thanks to the cameras in the net, and the ability to review a goal and award it after the fact, the New York Islanders were able to pick up an important two points. And I’m loving technology for giving us the angle and the ability to stop the play and award a goal when a goal was scored.

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Robin Lehner: Conspiracy Theorist

Robin Lehner wasn’t happy after the game, telling media that there’s some sort of anti-Buffalo shenanigans at play. I get that he was mad and maybe this was just an immediate reaction from a fired up goalie that just lost. But it sounds crazy.

I’ll give Lehner credit for putting himself in a position to make a save. What he did to try and stop Bailey wasn’t easy to do. Unfortunately, he stopped the puck in the net, which is a goal. So the call was the correct one to make.

Next: Boychuk Week-to-Week Aho Called Up

It was a fair goal, credited to a team that worked hard enough to generate it. If Robin Lehner has any perspective he might look over the rest of the game where his team wasn’t able to take control of that game against one of the best offensive teams in the league.