Going up against the Buffalo Sabres any time after Thanksgiving is a sure-fire way to pad a few points to your record, as the Sabres had lost four straight going into Tuesday night’s game at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Ryan Getzlaf is 36 and does not have many more years ahead of him in the league. Having Getzlaf, Max Comtois and Adam Henrique all currently on injured reserve is certainly not helping the cause. However, the Ducks currently find themselves third in a very competitive Pacific Division.
Scoreless in the first period, Duck forward Trevor Zigras took a cycled pass from Richard Rakell. Zigras’ positioning behind the net made the Sabres question whether he would try to move the puck himself, or throw it into a passing lane for a charging teammate. Instead, Zigras scooped the puck up on the blade of his stick, thinking he would try the “lacrosse” goal made famous by Michigan Wolverine Mike Legg back in 1996.
Zigras instead flipped the puck over the Sabre net, where it was batted in by Sonny Milano. Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukonen had no idea where the puck was, as his back was naturally to Zigras. The Sabres were dumbfounded by what just happened, while the Ducks were celebrating one of the most amazing goals you will ever see.
Deflected pucks in front of the net are a regular occurrence in the NHL, but you rarely see one where the puck is batted cleanly out of the air by an offensive player and actually goes in. The coordination of both Zigras and Milano will show up on every highlight reel across the country for the rest of this week, in addition to putting the two in the conversation for goal of the year.
However, this is the goal of the year that likely should not have counted.
When Milano hit the puck with the blade of his stick, there was a distinct swiping motion. The blade and puck were both above the height of the crossbar, meaning the play should have been blown dead for the puck being hit with a high stick.
ESPN commentators John Buccigross and Brian Boucher were stunned as well. Buccigross originally thought the puck went off Luukonen’s back, until he saw the replay on his monitor.
Kudos to the Sabres, as head coach Don Granato immediately thought the puck was above the crossbar. The play was reviewed by the NHL offices in Toronto, where an eye-level camera showed the puck hit more towards the heel of Milano’s stick, which was near the height of the crossbar. The play stood, which turned out to be the game-winning-goal. The Ducks tacked on an empty-netter for the 2-0 win.
The ruling from Toronto was there was not enough evidence to overturn the call on the ice. Check the box on your NHL Bingo card if you thought Anaheim would get the call over Buffalo here.
This was not the first time the Anaheim rookie did something that will have fans buzzing for at least a few days. Two weeks ago, Zigras scored an overtime winner at home to beat the Washington Capitals, then skated to the boards and tossed his stick over the glass and into the hometown crowd, before being mobbed by his teammates off the Anaheim bench.
Zigras (6 goals, 15 assists) trails Detroit’s Lucas Raymond (10G, 22A) by one point among rookies so far this season. They say you want your rookie season to be memorable and Zigras and Raymond certainly are on their way to a very competitive Calder Trophy race.
It will take a miracle for Raymond to catch Zigras on highlight-reel goals after this one, though.
-JC24