When is a hockey play that's demonstrably, indisputably offside deemed to be not offside?
Why, in the NHL, of course.
It's debatable how significant an impact it had in the Penguins' seesaw 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders, but there's no doubt that an offside call and subsequent video review in the second period left nearly 19,000 jaws agape Friday night at PPG Paints Arena.
But hey, look for yourself ...
Linesmen will miss calls. Derek Amell missed this one. He's at the far edge of the blue line, there were a bunch of bodies, and he's human.
But what came next on the part of the NHL's video review in Toronto was absolute butchery.
Let's start with the play itself: The Islanders' Josh Bailey is carrying the puck through the neutral zone and, just as he's broaching the Pittsburgh blue line, criss-crosses with linemate Anders Lee. The Penguins' Justin Schultz takes an unsuccessful swipe at Bailey's blade, and Lee raises his left skate roughly a half-foot off the ice, clearly before the puck crosses.
That's offside.
So when we let the video roll ...
... and we see Lee finishing off the sequence seconds later, we're also safe in surmising that Mike Sullivan has the ultimate no-brainer for a coach's challenge. Which, of course, he exercises.
Only to learn, after a few minutes pass, that the goal is upheld because the play was deemed onside ... even though it wasn't.
As Sullivan shouted across the ice after the call was announced to a sea of boos from those who'd witnessed multiple replays on the big board, "What are you guys lookin' at?"
The response he got from the officials was essentially this: When Bailey momentarily releases the puck, he has momentarily forfeited possession. And in that moment, Lee reaches back with his left skate to touch up on the blue line. Therefore, the play is onside.
Or, if you'd prefer the NHL's actual statement:
At 9:18 of the second period in the Islanders/Penguins game, Pittsburgh requested a Coach’s Challenge to review if New York was off-side prior to Anders Lee’s goal.
After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Linesman, NHL Hockey Operations staff confirmed that that the Lee tagged up in the neutral zone before Josh Bailey touched the puck in the attacking zone, rendering the play onside. Therefore the original call stands – good goal New York Islanders.
Dear Lord, no.
This was Sullivan's full response when asked about this after the game: "I understand the logic. I'm not sure I agree with it, but I understand the logic. For me, the fundamental discussion is over possession. And if a player takes his stick off the puck, theoretically, for me, he still has possession of the puck. You know, players do that all the time. So ... I do understand the officials and the logic associated with it. I'm not sure I agree with the interpretation."
Nor should he. And it couldn't be more obvious why.
Rule 83.1 of the official NHL Rulebook states, without equivocation, that “a player actually controlling the puck who shall cross the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered ‘off-side.' " This is in the book primarily to address instances where a player has clear possession but enters the zone skates first, or backward. That's onside.
So the issue here is what constitutes "controlling the puck." Or possession, as Sullivan described it.
The league's apparent contention is that, because Bailey releases the puck for a split-second before it winds up right back on his stick, he wasn't in possession when Lee went back to touch up.
That's insane.
That's tantamount to saying Mario Lemieux lost possession against Shawn Chambers in the greatest goal the sport's greatest player ever scored:
There, did you catch that part where Lemieux lost possession?
No?
Well, yeah, because he didn't. He was in complete control every single stride of the way, including the milliseconds in which the puck was not physically making contact with his blade.
To borrow from the NFL term "making a football move," he was making a hockey move. Some of the most spectacular hockey moves we've ever seen, but hockey moves nonetheless.
Now, go back up and look at Bailey entering the zone. He's in complete control. He chips the puck, moves exactly where he chips it and continues with absolute fluidity. There's no disruption or delay. He slides the puck through Lee the same way Lemieux slides it through Chambers.
This isn't isolated. Something strikingly similar happened six days in Chicago, and it was butchered just as badly.
Jonathan Toews was offside by a broad margin as teammate Richard Panik entered the Colorado zone:
THIS WAS DEEMED ONSIDE. WHAT. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/8FCfAmFdN1
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 20, 2017