Panthers coach Paul Maurice was baffled by an offside video review that wiped away a second-period goal Friday, saying there was «no way» for officials to make a definitive ruling.
— Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t have challenged it. Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch thought it was obvious. One thing was clear: The offside video review that took down Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov’s second-period goal was a turning point in Edmonton’s 5-1 Game 6 Stanley Cup Final victory Friday night.
Barkov appeared to score 10 seconds after Edmonton’s Adam Henrique gave the home team a 2-0 lead just 46 seconds into the second period. But the Oilers’ bench challenged the goal, saying the Panthers were offside. After a video review, the officials determined that Florida’s Sam Reinhart «preceded the puck into the offensive zone and was in an offside position prior to the Panthers’ goal», taking Barkov’s goal off the board and preserving the 2-0 lead.
The Oilers were in control of the game at that point. The ruling stopped Florida from stealing any of the momentum.
«You’re looking for a jump-start at that point», Maurice said. «The shots are 11-2 in the first period, so we need something to go. It would’ve been a spark for us for sure.»
Edmonton would add a third goal with 1:40 left in the period. Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling had an ill-fated one-timer attempt blocked by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to center ice, where winger Zach Hyman found the puck, raced in and beat goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for his 16th goal of the playoffs.
