| 22 November 2009
All right, so I am happy the Coyotes won but I am still puzzled by the Shane Doan Miracle Goal (which I believe we still would have won without). There has been much debate and rules posting on the twitter today.
Rule 25.2 says:
If at the time a penalty shot is awarded, the goalkeeper of the penalized team has been removed from the ice to substitute another player, the goalkeeper shall be permitted to return to the ice before the penalty shot is taken.
But Rule 26.1 says this:
A goal will be awarded to the attacking team when the opposing team has taken their goalkeeper off the ice and an attacking player has possession and control of the puck in the neutral or attacking zone on, without a defending player between himself and the opposing goal, and he is prevented from scoring as a result of an infraction committed by the defending team.
So which one is it?
And what has confused me (and others) is that Doan was awarded the goal. It appeard that Pronger was the one being sent to the box at first. Pronger hooked Fiddy by the side of the net, not Doan. Doan's attempt was blocked by Mike Richards.
I just watched the video about 10 times. I watched it last night but wasn't paying close attention. In watching it closely this is what I got:
-Doan intercepts the puck at center ice. He shoots it towards the Flyers goal. It sails pass the net, bounces off the boards and stops near the post.
-Fiddy comes skating down and is hooked by Pronger. It was called and no whistle for the delayed penalty. It did look like Pronger actually hooked Fiddy.
-Doan tries to come in for the rebound and Richards sprawls across the ice and gets his stick on the ice to knock the puck away. Looks like a million saves I saw that night, Yandle does it all the time now.
So once the whistle is blown, Pronger goes to the box. Then the refs talk and Pronger comes out of the box. There is much conferencing at center ice between the refs and the players. Then Doan is awarded the goal.
I am still not clear as to why, since it was Fiddy that was hooked by Pronger when the penalty was called. And the rules somewhat contradict each other. I'm not going to lie, I am not an expert on all the NHL rules, especially the ones that I have never seen in a game before. I don't feel bad about this because one season Panger and Strader had to pull out a rule book to see why a penalty was assessed.
I am not sure I would say that their was clear control of the puck. Doan had control in the neutral zone but shot it down the ice, at which time every player raced to get it. Fiddy whacked at it, then Doan whacked at it. Is that control?
I was happy at the time the goal was rewarded but was also confused as to why. I hadn't seen it go in. I saw Pronger hook Fiddy and Doan was then rewarded the goal. I cheered and clapped but was still going, "What the fuck just happened here?" When they showed Doan on the jumbo-tron, he was just shaking his head like he couldn't believe they gave him the goal either.
I am still not sure that a goal should have been awarded. Obviously they can't go back and change it now but I think there should have just been a penalty. Or they should have reviewed it, called up to Toronto and got the War Room in on it.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy the Coyotes won but do I really want to be just given goals? We earned the first two and I think we would have won the game without the Shane Doan Miracle Goal. There was about 39 seconds left when this happened. It was highly unlikely that the Flyers would have scored in that time.
Let's take a look at the other scenarios:
1. Pronger goes to the box for 2 minutes (or the rest of regulation, whatever). There is a pretty good chance the Coyotes would have scored or at least controlled the PP. The Coyotes had both their goals come on the PP while the Flyers PK has just not been what it needs to be.
2. Doan gets to take a penalty shot on Emery. Doan is ok with the one-on-ones. He is not like Korpo or Radim or even Mueller. He might have got it passed Emery or Emery might have stopped him. This could have gone either way. If it had been one of the three I listed above, most likely we would have gotten the goal.
3. Doan gets to take a penalty shot on an empty net. He would have missed. I kid, I kid. Doan just always seems to miss the empty net but maybe if it was just him and the net, he could get it in. I think usually he is just looking to clear the puck and keep it out of his zone but in the case of a penalty shot on an empty net I can't imagine any player missing. Ok maybe Kurt Sauer but he's a dman, he's not supposed to have any aim. 
4. Fiddy gets the penalty shot on Emery. I am not sure how this would work out. I have never seen Fiddy in a shoot out. His goals usually come from creating havoc in front of the net and banging in the rebound (which I love him for). This would have been something I would have wanted to see.
5. Fiddy gets a penalty shot on an empty net. Most likely it would go in. I can't make any guarantees because Coyotes have been pretty good at missing those empty netters from the neutral zone but in this case I am pretty sure Fiddy'd get the goal.
Ok, those are the only other scenarios I could come up with. I think any way you slice it the Coyotes would have still gotten the win. I am just not sure I like how that last goal was handed out. Even after watching the video several times and writing all this out I don't think we should have gotten a goal. What do you guys think? Did Doan deserve the goal? Should Fiddy have been awarded the penalty shot? If you were a ref, what would you have done? I am leaning towards the 2 minutes for Pronger.
I just hope this serves the Flyers well and they go on a tear. They need to beat the Avalanche. As my other team, I want them to do well. I am still glad the Coyotes won last night. They need it more then the Flyers. We need wins and butts in the seats. We need to prove that we are for real and we are here to stay. Let's just put this ugly goal behind us and focus on the next challenge: the Oilers.
