The Washington Capitals still lead the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0, but it nearly wasn’t so. During a second period 5-on-3 for the Canes, Justin Faulk put the puck in the back of the net. That would have been a goal EXCEPT.
Moments before Faulk took that shot, Karl Alner shoved Jeff Skinner into Braden Holtby‘s back. Holtby fell forward, his face mask spilled onto the ice. That’s when the official is supposed to blow the play dead– like, instantly, for, ya know, player safety. But that did not happen.
Instead, the puck trickled out to Faulk, who released a shot to right around where Holtby’s rather attractive face might have otherwise been.
Holtby gets up and says, “Are you kidding me?”
Faulk, to his credit, winced after realizing what had happened and apologized.
The officials ruled thus: no goal, obviously, and no penalty, which, okay, sure, I guess.
Caps 1, Canes 0, Skycam -10, Officials -235236
