The Dallas Stars haven’t needed to use their coach’s challenge for the first 11 games of the regular season, but that changed Monday night in Toronto when the eagle-eyes video staff caught something on what appeared to be Brad Boyes second goal of the first period.
About 30 seconds before Boyes picked up the rebound of a shot and tucked it around Antti Niemi’s right pad, Byron Froese had bumbled the puck into the zone, trying to control a bouncing puck off the stick of Jason Demers.
And as the video shows, he was ever so very slightly ahead of the puck going into the zone.
If you prefer your moving pictures in GIF form, Stephanie has got you covered here:
another look pic.twitter.com/HpObkt4pBE
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 3, 2015
It was ridiculously close and not the main problem on the play at all (though numbers coming right back at the Stars on a line change certainly didn’t help matters). Johnny Oduya got complete possession of the puck before making a centering pass right to a Leafs player. But it was all for naught because the zone entry itself was, indeed, offside.
The overturn makes the Stars 1-for-1 in their own challenges and 1-for-2 of challenges they’ve been involved with, as the Florida Panthers challenged a no-goal because of goalie interference call early in the season that was eventually overturned.
But really, this is the most important takeaway so far:
Lindy finally wins the important #NoGoal call 16 years later.
— Audrey (@lifeasasleeper) November 3, 2015