Instant Replay...

It looked as if the Wild got the short end of a goal review last night. Johan Franzen of the Detroit Red Wings smacked a puck out of mid-air, while standing on the edge of the crease, and into the net. The goal was immediately waived off by one official, who was in perfect view of the play, from behind the net. And it looked as if that was the right call. But as is the case with all goals scored in the NHL, it was reviewed. By whom is anybody's guess. One can only assume that the play was seen not only in the replay booth upstairs at the X but also back in Toronto, where the league has it's 'war room', because of the length of time it took to reach a final decision. And judging by the replays television viewers saw, the decision seemed to be the wrong one as the off-ice officials overturned the one-ice officials call and ruled the goal good. Incidentally, this goal tied the game at 2-2 with less than 5 minutes remaining.

So I started doing some digging to see what exactly happens when there is a goal and how it is reviewed. I did not find much to go on. I pulled out my copy of the National Hockey League Official Rules to see what it had to say and found the following circumstances where the video goal judge will review plays:

(i) Puck crossing the goal line.
(ii) Puck in the net prior to the goal frame being dislodged.
(iii) Puck in the net prior to, or after expiration of time at the end of the period.
(iv) Puck directed or batted into the net by a hand or foot.
(v) Puck deflected directly into the net off an Official.
(vi) Puck struck with a high-stick, above the height of the crossbar, by an attacking player prior to entering the goal.
(vii) To establish the correct time on the official game clock, provided the game time is visible on the Video Goal Judge's monitors.
(viii) The video review process shall be permitted to assist the referees in dertermining the legitimacy of all potential goals.

So clearly there are guidelines to follow when calling the booth up stairs. And interestingly enough, there are clear guidelines for setting up the video review area of any given NHL arena. Section 39.8 Logistics and Equipment state, 'The Video Goal Judge must be located the a secluded are in the upper level of the building with an unobstructed view of both goals. The location must be large enough to seat three people, (Video Goal Judge, Video Technician and Supervisor of Officials) and have space necessary monitors, replay, and recording equipment'.

This section goes on to say 'The Video Goal Judge shall have access to all replays that may be available by reason of any telecasts of the game and if there is no scheduled telecast the Club's internal telecast of the game will be used'.

And in the Wild's case last night, because the goal was originally ruled no good, there must have been something in one of the replay's that looked 'conclusive' to over-turn the ruling on the ice. So where is that video and why did the fans not see it? There were a couple of different angle that were made available to the fans, and in none of them was it remotely possible to come to a conclusive decision. So again, what were they looking at?