The puck had sprung off Sidney Crosby's blade with all the unpredictability anyone should have expected, given the sensational situation at hand.
There was the lifelong superstar gunning for his first Stanley Cup playoff overtime goal, not to mention his first goal of any kind in nine games.
There were the opponent's top two performers, one in front of the other, as obstacles.
And there, a nanosecond prior, came the pinpoint pass from the player who never passes.
All of which resulted in this psycho shot that has to be seen ... and seen ... and seen to be believed, if only for the orbital path it took.
Ever seen an object bend like that without involving Beckham or a black hole?
No, seriously, was Gerrit Cole in the house again?
Regardless, it bent right into the books next to this result: Penguins 3, Lightning 2
And it might have a reverberating effect, even beyond tying this Eastern Conference final.
"It was an amazing feeling for all of us, just because it's Sid," Justin Schultz was gushing through that gap-toothed grin as he glanced over toward the captain's stall. "We all follow him. He's such a great leader. For him to be the one to score the goal, it was awesome."
There's been a lot of silliness in a lot of circles regarding Crosby in this postseason, headlined by all the Sid vs. Alexander Ovechkin hype that never came close to materializing and was, in fact, decided by the supporting casts on both the Pittsburgh and Washington sides. In Gary Bettman's NHL, scoring is harder than ever, and it's doubly hard for the stars who face checking lines and top defense pairings shift after shift.
But in the same breath, I'm buying what Schultz is selling. Because for these Penguins at this time, this goal by this player was precisely what was needed.
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"It is so great to see him score," Ben Lovejoy said. "He, rightfully so, judges his game on filling the net. We know the goals are going to come. They always do. But he's playing great hockey, and he was rewarded for it."
Some defiance showed, too.
"You guys were all over him," Patric Hornqvist told a group of us reporters gathered around him, "and then he scores the biggest goal of the year."
