NY Islanders explain why they didn't challenge controversial Tage Thompson goal

The New York Islanders refused to let a controversial goal decide their night, even if it never should have counted in the first place.

Tage Thompson’s second-period tally — a goal that neither replay nor camera angle ever clearly confirmed crossed the line — ultimately became a footnote in a game the Isles clawed back, tied late, and had multiple chances to win before falling 3-2 to the Sabres in a shootout Saturday night at KeyBank Arena. That doesn’t make it right, though, and it doesn’t make it easier to swallow.

Thompson cut down the left wing midway through the second period, faked a shot and appeared to tuck the puck near David Rittich’s pad. The puck disappeared underneath the goalie, Peyton Krebs jabbed at it, and somehow the whistle stayed silent long enough for officials to award a goal to Thompson. The problem? No replay ever showed the puck across the line.

“Seventy-five cameras at the stadium,” Rittich said afterward, “and not even one showed the puck in the net. The only guy who saw it was the ref.”

Because the goal was ruled good on the ice, the Islanders were boxed in. Without conclusive evidence the puck never crossed the line, there was nothing to challenge. Patrick Roy echoed the frustration, saying there was no angle showing the puck in the net and no realistic path to overturn the call. “It was inconclusive in my opinion, so we would not have won the challenge. But if they would’ve given the goal to [Krebs] when he hit the pads, then we would’ve challenged it. And I don’t know how the referee saw it at the beginning. That’s the other thing I’m not sure [about].

Still, the Islanders didn’t fold. Mathew Barzal scored late in the second to pull New York within one, then Emil Heineman buried a last-minute power-play goal to force overtime. In the extra session, the Isles carried play and nearly stole it outright, most notably when Barzal broke free alone, only to be denied.

The shootout followed the same script — chances, pressure, and another narrow miss — before Buffalo finally escaped. The Islanders earned a point. But they also left Buffalo knowing the Sabres’ second goal probably shouldn’t have been on the scoresheet at all.