"No goal" decision helps Sabres take 3-1 lead against Isles

By Rick Anderson
April 19, 2007

Another "No Goal" controversy. Ryan Miller was pushed into his net along with the puck. The ref waives off the goal and a huge controversy ensued.

[NY Times Photo/ Barton Silverman]

The Buffalo Sabres took a commanding 3-1 lead in their first round series with the New York Islanders, but for the second straight game on Long Island, there was a "no goal" controversy. The Sabres beat the Isles 4-2 in Game 4 Wednesday, but the game could have been tied with just a little over a minute left in regulation if an Islander goal hadn’t been waived off.

NHL Rule 69.6. That's the NHL rule that disallows a goal when a goalie has been pushed into the goal after making the initial save. For once, the NHL didn't change the rules to allow a goal that would hurt the Buffalo Sabres in a playoff game.

Wednesday night in Long Island, the New York Islanders thought they had finally scored to tie the game up at 3. There was a scramble in front of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller and he smothered up the puck, only to be pushed into the goal, with the puck trickling to the back of the net. The Isles celebrated while the ref quickly waved off the goal. There was a delay while most thought the goal was being reviewed, but the officials were just confirming the rule and making sure they got it right.

Because of the favorable ruling, the Sabres went on to win Game 4 of their first round series with the Isles, 4-2. Jason Pominville scored just 30 seconds after the controversy, snapping a slap shot to Rick DiPietro's left, which resulted in DiPietro smashing his stick against the goal post. Chris Drury got two goals and Thomas Vanek the other in the Sabres win.

Mike Leggo, the ref who waived off the goal had this to say about his decision:

"After a goaltender makes a save, they can't be pushed into the net after making the save," referee Mike Leggo said after the game. "I deemed the puck was under him and he made the save, and then he was pushed into the net. After he was in the net, I saw the puck came loose. I didn't see the puck until he got up, actually."

The Islanders claimed different, with coach Ted Nolan making the most fuss. For once, the Sabres were on the right side of a "No Goal" controversy. While this one didn't decide the Stanley Cup, it was immensely important as the Isles were swarming the Sabres goal like angry bees and that goal would have most likely forced an overtime. With the win, the Sabres take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and can possibly wrap it up when they come home for Game 5 Friday in Buffalo.

"I don't care what anybody says," fumed Nolan. "That was a goal. Witt banged it in the goal and then [Miller] got pushed," Nolan insisted.

"They said we pushed the goaltender in. The puck was in the net before he was pushed. I don’t care what anybody says. That was a goal."

Nolan was playing his sympathy card again, one that he has become adapt at.
"We had three different opinions on what was the call. Toronto was saying something. The referee was saying two or three different things. We haven’t got the full explanation yet. We looked at video. We saw the puck banged in and then the goaltender gets pushed in. That’s all we can say."

We got to keep playing the way we have been. Any time you play against the top seed in the league, obviously, you’re not going to get any breaks. We’ve just got to create our own breaks. We never got one yet."

This was the second controversial goal/no goal that went against the Islanders in two games. On Monday, Thomas Vanek scored a goal that was impossible to see from most camera angles. Finally, a TSN feed showed that the puck had indeed gotten past DiPietro and was it was ruled from Toronto that the goal counted. Buffalo won that game 3-2.

This goal/no goal will be reviewed almost as much as the infamous "no goal" by Brett Hull during the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. You can definitely hear the whistle right when Ryan Miller is being pushed into the net by an Islander. The Isles celebrate the goal, but then become adamant after learning the goal was disallowed.

There was this phantom goal that the Flyers scored on the Sabres in 2000's playoff. It was when the puck entered from a hole in the side of the net and it was counted as a goal. Now there's a phantom video replay that clearly shows that the puck went in before the play was whistled dead. It was supposed to be on the Islanders feed of the game, a replay from the far end of the rink, but it is nowhere to be found on the Internet. 

Several of the hosts on a Buffalo sports radio station claim that they have seen it, but it has not been made available on their site.

Meanwhile, this same station had the NHL Director of Officiating Stephen Walkolm on Thursday afternoon. He said, "the referee on the ice deemed that the goaltender was pushed into the net together with the puck and he wasn't allowed to play the puck and he disallowed the goal immediately. It's a play where you try to make the call on the ice because you can't review that call."

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