Phillip Danault replay angle raises new questions after Canadiens' erased goal
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Phillip Danault gave Martin St-Louis a new officiating headache after Montreal's erased goal became the story of a 6-2 playoff win.
The Canadiens beat the Sabres on Sunday, but that score didn't calm the bench. It made the missed-goal debate louder.
Danault's apparent second-period goal was waved off after officials ruled Alex Lyon had been pushed into the net.
That ruling is where the story shifted. The new angle made the puck-line-contact order look a lot less clean for the NHL.
The puck appears to slide across first, with Lyon moving backward after the play is already breaking Montreal's way.
One post captured the raw fan read in one sentence: no goal because the Canadiens scored the goal.
Danault's erased goal now looks bigger than the win
The angle shows Lyon in the crease, Danault near the paint, and the puck already creating the real question before the contact takes over.
That's the problem for the league. This wasn't a harmless regular-season review in November. It was a playoff sequence at the Bell Centre.
Montreal still won by 4 goals, which keeps St-Louis from needing to chase the result after the fact.
But process matters in the playoffs. A wrong read in a 1-goal moment can change a series, even when it doesn't change this game.
For Danault, the sting is obvious. He entered the night still looking for his first playoff goal after 10 postseason games.
For the NHL, the damage is sharper. When a clearer camera angle creates more doubt, the review room owns the conversation.
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