Quote:
Originally Posted by Phagoof
The league just hates the Flames, it all started with the phantom goal in 04.
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or earlier...
After Krushelnyski's goal gave Los Angeles a 4-3 victory and this first-round playoff series in six games, the Flames dressed without any visible emotion. They had been angry over a disallowed goal by Doug Gilmour that would have won the game for them late in the first overtime, but now they were quiet. They did not curse their luck, which, considering the bloop game-winner, their territorial dominance in overtime and referee Denis Morel's quick whistle on the Gilmour shot, was abysmal. Still, after having fallen behind 3-1 in a series they had figured to win decisively, they knew the perils of playing on the edge. "We didn't lose the series tonight," said defenseman Jamie Macoun. "We lost it by playing badly earlier in the series."
Nevertheless, Calgary could have prevailed had Gilmour's goal-that-wasn't been allowed to stand. Gilmour chipped the puck from behind the L.A. net. The puck ricocheted off the back of goalie Kelly Hrudey's right leg and slithered toward the goal line. Goal judge Ted Metcalfe illuminated the goal light, and the entire Flame team rushed onto the ice in celebration. But Morel talked to Metcalfe on a phone and ruled no goal. Morel had lost sight of the puck and apparently assumed that Hrudey had covered it, so he whistled the play dead. "The goal judge saw it [the puck] in after it [the play] was killed [whistled dead]," Morel said later. "I had killed play." If that's the case, why did Morel need to consult with Metcalfe before making his ruling?
"Some things are to be," said Calgary defenseman Ric Nattress, "and some things are not to be." That is an observation that can be made whenever Wayne Gretzky appears in a postseason series.