In one of the most controversial endings of any major league championships in history, the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 at the 14:51 mark of the third overtime. Brett Hull put the lights out on a spectacular Sabre season with a goal that will be reviewed and disputed for years to come. Dominik Hasek went down and blocked a shot by Mike Modano. Hull was in the crease, batted at the puck, the puck came out and Hull's skate stayed in the crease. He put the puck back into the crease and then poked the puck past the out-stretched pads of Dominik Hasek and the wild celebration was on. It was so wild that it prevented officials on the ice and in the video booth from making the objective call. The goal should not have counted.
What a shame to end a Stanley Cup finals series this way! Three overtimes it took for the Dallas Stars to finally turn out the lights on the Buffalo Sabres wildly successful season. The game was a rock ‘em sock ‘em game, and the Sabres outshot the Stars throughout the whole game including the three overtimes. To have what amounted to the best SCF series in years end in such a manner is a disgrace to the league. It is also unfortunate for the Stars, who clearly were the better team in this series. They now will known as the team that won the Stanley Cup on a goal that should have been overruled. No matter how you look at it, this night belonged to the Sabres, but they didn't get any help from the man upstairs.
The Sabres gave it all they could, but they just couldn't get anything past Eddie Belfour until Stu Barnes finally cracked the Eagle's egg. This was the most pressure that the Sabres ever put on Eddie the Eagle. With only 1:39 remaining in the second period and the Stars leading 1-0, Barnes rocketed a shot off the left post. The Sabres were on the board for the first time in over 2 games, or 130 minutes, 44 seconds to be exact!
The goal also sent the Sabres into unchartered territory. This is the farthest the Sabres have even been towards the ultimate goal: the Stanley Cup. They equaled the success of the 1975 Sabres by going 6 games, but in the final one 24 years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Sabres 2-0. But scoring a goal in Game 6, the Sabres broke that infamous Game 6 shutout streak! It was the seventh goal in the playoffs for Stuie. Who's complaining about that trade for Barnes now? Who wants Barnaby on this team?
The Sabres were fighting to come back since Dominik Hasek allowed a soft goal at the 8 minute mark of the first period. Jere Lehtinen got the puck fifteen feet to the right side of Hasek and flicked the puck off Hasek's right pad and it somehow fell behind the stunned Dominator and into the net. For some reason, Hasek had moved his pad away from the right post before the shot and Lehtinen's shot found the only gap in the seam. From that point on, the Sabres pressed, and pressed and pressed and couldn't get anything behind Belfour. Belfour had become the Dominator, making numerous incredible saves. But when Barnes finally scored, the packed house at Marine Midland Arena went into a frenzy.
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Dallas captain Derian Hatcher lifts the Stanley Cup in Buffalo.
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In the third period, the Sabres really opened it up. They kept the play in the Dallas end most of the period and twice Sabres crashed into Belfour. Varada got a pass in close to Belfour and broke in on him, was tripped up and crashed into the Eagle. Eddie then proceeded to give Varada a punch for good measure.
Darryl Shannon, who had not played since the first game of the Ottawa series (Round 1), was called on to replace Rhett Warrener, who broke his ankle in a scuffle with Derian Hatcher in the last game. And Shannon did an outstanding job. He threw his body around and pinched in to help the offense on numerous occasions. He got injured near the end of the first overtime, limping off the ice in pain, but was back for the second overtime.
In final retrospect on this wild and controversial game, the contest came down to goaltending. Eddie Belfour was by far the more superior goalie on the ice last night. In my book, he deserves the Conn Smythe award on last night's performance alone. Dominik Hasek allowed a very stoppable goal when Lehtinen got a shot through off Hasek's right pad. Belfour, on the other hand, was flawless. On Barnes goal, he had no chance. Belfour played exceptional and deserves all the credit anyone can bestow him.
In what should be viewed as one of the greatest games and series in Stanley Cup history, it will go down as besmirched. The officials on the ice and the stands didn't have the courage to reverse the call. After two minutes of on-ice celebration, they let it go on too long and couldn't undo history. Deep inside they knew they had blown the biggest call of their lives. The embarrassment will haunt those officials for the remainder of their lives. What a shame that this outstanding game had to end this way.
NHL'S BIGGEST NIGHTMARE
Tainted goal places tainted image on NHL
Sunday, June 20, 1999
In what could have been a showcase for the National Hockey League, the league's biggest game turned out to be filled with controversy. On the winning goal by Brett Hull, video replays reveal that Hull's skate was in the crease when he scored. The video judges upstairs must have been getting some coffee at the refreshment stands when the goal was scored. Obviously they weren't doing their job. I wish I could have as cushy a job as the video judges have. They can get in and see the Stanley Cup Finals, sit up in their plush suites, eat the best food in the house and get paid for their luxury to boot. All they have to do is to make the right call at the right time. Last night at 1:30 AM EDT, the video judges were out to lunch!
All the different angles of replays clearly show that Hull's skate was in the crease when he scored. Throughout the regular season, such a goal would have clearly been disallowed. To not even review a goal in a game of this magnitude is another huge embarrassment for the league. In fact, this tainted goal will prove to be an even bigger defeat for the league than it is for the Sabres. With the national televisions way down for this finals, this is the last thing that the NHL needed. It is going to be a big black eye on the league, and it won't be going away anytime soon.
Lindy Ruff was acrimonious after the game. After seeing the review in the Sabres locker room, Ruff raced back out on the ice to have a few words with the officials.
"That's the league's worst nightmare," fumed Ruff. "The puck was in the crease, the supervisors tried to explain to me that that was a good goal. All I wanted was a review. His foot is in the crease when they scored the goal. If they wanted to slow things down they would have reviewed. They're talking about changing it (the rule), but the rule is in place. All I want is a review. That was the worst case scenario. Pandemonium set in and they can't take it back. Everybody saw it, but once you have 200 people on the ice, they're not going to review it."
Ruff went out of his way to discuss the matter with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
"I wanted Bettman to answer the question, why is that not reviewed," Ruff said. "And really, he just turned his back on me. He almost looked to me like he knew this might be a tainted goal and there was no answer for it."
NHL director of officiating, Bryan Lewis, was sweating bullets during a press conference when he tried to explain the non-review. It reminded me of that cable TV ad where a chairman of Direct TV answers interrogation, saying "Can they ask that question? That's not fair! Do I have to answer that question?" Lewis asserted during a livid news conference the video judge did review the play.
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The controversial crease rule backfires at the NHL at the worst possible time
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"Having looked at it, the determination by those of us upstairs in the goal judge's location, including myself, was in fact that Hull played the puck," Lewis squirmed in his seat. "Hull had possession and control of the puck, the rebound off the goalie does not change anything. It is his puck then to shoot and score, albeit a foot may or may not be in the crease prior to."
It is as if the NHL is making the rules as we go along! I do agree that the crease rule must be modified. I've been saying so all year. But my argument is that if another player has his skate in the crease when a goal is scored and he doesn't have any involvement in the play, the goal should stand. This was a clear case of the goal scorer in the crease. The Sabres have lost numerous games because of a player having a skate in the crease. And they were "in control of the puck" when they scored. The league is trying to cover up for a serious blunder at the worst time possible. It's like an interference not being called in the Super Bowl in overtime on the winning touchdown. The league is in serious financial trouble and need a huge TV contract to remain afloat. This tainted goal will further diminish the image of the NHL in the very eyes of the fans the league is trying to attract.
"I'll be fined if I say what I really feel about it," defenseman Jay McKee said after the game. "It just doesn't make sense. We are not in here whining, but that is a rule. If they beat us fairly, that's fine. It's a great series, it was a great battle, but to have it lost that way, it doesn't make sense to me."
The crease rule has to change. Too many "good" goals have been taken away from many teams when there was a skate in the crease that didn't even have any affect on the goal. The crease should also be cut down in size. But the Hull's skate last night was definitely in the crease. For the NHL officials try to cover their tracks and say that Hull was in possession of the puck is really lame. I never heard this reasoning before last night. Never once has that been explained to the fans. Now, all of a sudden, it's there. Sounds like reaching out for straws when drowning to me.
With small market teams in deep trouble in this league, to have this controversy swirling over the NHL is the worst thing to happen to the league. Pittsburgh's plight as an NHL team is in deep trouble. All Canadian teams, except for the Toronto Maple Leafs, are drowning in red ink. Even the Sabres, who sold out most of their games and got a third home game in the Stanley Cup Finals, are over $80 million in debt. Troubled waters are in front of the NHL ship and last night's tainted goal by Hull was like a torpedo hitting the ship. If something isn't done fast, the league could be bailing out water to survive.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW RULE 78 IN THE NHL RULEBOOK
Multimedia
HULL'S CONTROVERSIAL GAME-WINNER TO WIN THE CUP IN TRIPLE-OT
SEE BARNES' GOAL TO TIE GAME 6 AT 1-1
BARNES' SHOT DEFLECTS OFF EDDIE BELFOUR
BELFOUR MAKES A GLOVE SAVE IN TRAFFIC
POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER GAME 6 (AUDIO)
Dallas 2, Buffalo 1
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1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
OT
|
2OT
|
3OT
|
TOTAL
|
|
Dallas
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Buffalo
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
First Period
Scoring: 1, Dallas, Lehtinen 10 (Modano, Ludwig), 8:09.
Second Period
Scoring: 2, Buffalo, Barnes 7 (Primeau, Zhitnik), 18:21. Penalties: Sanderson, Buf (interference), 5:19; Ludwig, Dal (interference), 10:49; Hogue, Dal (tripping), 14:28; Peca, Buf (slashing), 19:27.
Third Period
Scoring: None.
Overtime
Scoring: None.
Overtime
Scoring: None.
Overtime
Scoring: 3, Dallas, Hull 8 (Lehtinen, Modano), 14:51.
SHOTS ON GOAL
| Dallas |
|
5 |
11 |
10 |
4 |
13 |
7 |
--50 |
Buffalo
|
|
11
|
15
|
6
|
6
|
12
|
4
|
--54
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Power-play Conversions: Dal - 0 of 2, Buf - 0 of 2. Goalies: Dallas, Belfour (54 shots, 53 saves; record: 16-7-0). Buffalo, Hasek (50, 48; record: 13-6-0). A:18,595. Referees: Gregson, B Mccreary. Linesmen:
Broseker, Collins.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS
| Dallas | | | | | Buffalo | | | | |
|
G |
A |
+/- |
Shots |
|
G |
A |
+/- |
Shots |
Carbonneau
Chambers
Hatcher
Hogue
Hull
Keane
Langenbrunner
Lehtinen
Ludwig
Matvichuk
Modano
Nieuwendyk
Reid
Skrudland
Sloan
Sydor
Verbeek
Zubov
|
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
-1
+2
-1
even
even
-1
even
+2
even
even
+2
even
even
even
even
+1
+1
even
|
1
2
4
1
4
6
1
3
0
4
7
3
1
1
0
3
5
4
|
B Holzinger
Barnes
Brown
Cunneyworth
D Ward
Juneau
Mckee
Patrick
Peca
Primeau
Rasmussen
Sanderson
Satan
Shannon
Smehlik
Varada
Woolley
Zhitnik
|
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
|
-1
+1
even
-1
even
-1
-1
+1
even
even
-1
+1
-1
-1
-1
even
even
even
|
4
8
1
2
3
2
1
4
0
2
4
3
3
6
0
3
2
6
|
CLICK HERE FOR PLAY-BY-PLAY AND IN-DEPTH STATS OF GAME SIX
Top 5 Post-Game Quotes
1. Bryan Lewis when asked why on every previous instance they would've went upstairs, but on this goal they didn't - "The idea is we don't want to have a three, four, five-minute delay"
2. Bryan Lewis when asked what plan did he have in place in the event that it was clearly a goal that should have been called back and the celebration was on - "I mean, this would be the worst case scenario that you can think of. Our reaction is blow the horn; get the players back out there, drop the puck outside the blue line and play hockey."
3. Lindy Ruff when asked on whether or not he is going to protest Hull's goal - "We want to protest really. I mean, that is the worst nightmare right there man in the crease, puck is definitely out of the crease, you can't explain that one to me. You can't they have tried -- you cannot explain that one to me."
4. Lindy Ruff on whether or not they should've reviewed Hull's goal - "All I wanted was a review. I mean, everybody saw it. Once you have got 200 people on the ice, no, they are not going to review it."
5. Joe Juneau on the "goal" - "I really think that if we had scored a goal like that, it would have been called back. I think because it was a goal that gave them the Stanley Cup, everybody jumped on the ice and they were afraid to make the call. It was our team that had scored the goal, it would have been called back and we would still be in overtime."
FOR MORE QUOTES, LISTEN TO THE POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE ON REAL AUDIO
Sabre Sword's 3 Stars Goats of the Game
1. The National Hockey League On what was set out to be one of the most memorable games in NHL history, it turned out to be one of the gloomiest days the NHL will see.
2. The crease rule - My second "goat" of the game goes to the crease rule. This is a rule which is supposed to be objective and in Rule 78, nowhere is anything about having possession of the puck found.
3. Bryan Lewis - Not worth trying to explain this one.
HONORABLE MENTION - Both the Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres for providing a great series which will unfortunately be overshadowed by this controversial goal.
