Today In NHL History - Brad May's Disallowed Goal

On November 18th in 2009, Detroit Red Wings bruiser Brad May scored what would have been the lone goal of his final NHL season and last of his career. Unfortunately, it was wrongfully disallowed by referees Dennis LaRue and Stephane Augier.

Relying on Rule 31.2, LaRue exacerbated his oversight claiming he intended to blow the whistle prior to the puck entering the net, thus removing the play from the purview of Mike Murphy's video replay review. The absurdity of an official contemplating killing play during a shot on net highlights the ongoing failure of NHL officiating to effectively utilize its on and off ice resources to make the correct call.

May's marker would have tied the game with 14 minutes to play. Instead, the Dallas Stars kept their 2-1 lead and added another to win 3-1.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Clark Shoots Through Net

On November 18th in 2010, Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner Brett Clark fired a slapshot past Philadelphia Flyers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky and through the back of net, narrowing the Flyers lead to 5-4 in a wild first period of play.

Better known for blocking shots than scoring goals, the blast marked Brett's first time scoring in consecutive regular season starts. Tampa Bay came back to beat Philadelphia that night by a score of 8-7.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Jaroslav Halak's Own Goal

On November 17th in 2010, St. Louis Blues backstop Jaroslav Halak botched a routine paddle play spotting his Central Division rival Detroit Red Wings an early 1-0 lead on the own goal eight minutes into the opening frame.

The Slovak sensation's Steve Smith was credited to Detroit's Drew Miller, his first score of the season. The Winged Wheel added four unanswered markers in the final eight minutes of the match to beat the Blues 7-3.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Pettersson Injures Calvert

On November 16th in 2019, Colorado Avalanche winger Matt Calvert took an Elias Pettersson wrist shot to the head. Clearly bloodied and injured by the puck, Pettersson paused and alerted the referees in an effort to stop play.

The officials ignored Pettersson's plea and twelve long seconds later Alex Edler scored, pulling the Vancouver Canucks within one goal with less than three minutes to play in the third period.
Players across the league were outraged that refs didn't stop play to attend to a player with a head injury. The problem lies with the NHL Rulebook, specifically Rule 8.1 Injured Player, which reads in relevant part:

When a player is injured so that he cannot continue play or go to his bench, the play shall not be stopped until the injured player’s team has secured control of the puck. If the player’s team is in control of the puck at the time of injury, play shall be stopped immediately unless his team is in a scoring position. In the case where it is obvious that a player has sustained a serious injury, the Referee and/or Linesman may stop the play immediately.

Brock Boeser added the equalizer with one minute remaining to force overtime. But, the Canucks comeback fell short as Nathan MacKinnon scored 27 seconds into the extra frame giving Colorado a 5-4 win.

That's today in NHL history.