Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
The Canadiens had the chance to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win against the Blackhawks on Monday night. Chicago ultimately prevailed in the shootout, but the NHL avoided what had the potential to be a major controversy after two refs somehow failed to notice a player had scored.
As of Monday morning, there were two NHL teams in the Eastern Conference in the hunt for the only remaining wild card spot: the Blue Jackets and the Canadiens.
Both squads had two games left on the schedule, and the Habs controlled their fate thanks to the three-point lead they had over Columbus; a win in any form over the Blackhawks would seal the deal, while a loss (either in regulation or overtime) gave the Blue Jackets a glimmer of hope heading into the final contest.
Montreal had a 2-1 lead after the first period, but the Blackhawks responded with two unanswered goals before the Canadiens forced overtime by tying things up in the closing minutes of the third. The score remained unchanged after the three-on-three sequence came to an end, which meant things would end up being decided in a shootout.
Neither team was able to capitalize in the first round, but Blackhawks center Frank Nazar was seemingly able to put the first tally on the board by roofing a backhander over Montreal’s Sam Montembeault that got lodged in the top of the net—a seemingly obvious score that nonetheless failed to draw a goal signal from the two referees who were standing on either side of the cage.
Patrick Laine was allowed to attempt a shot that was stonewalled by Arvid Soderblom. Things then took a turn when the officials announced the powers that be in the replay room in Toronto had flagged Nazar’s attempt before correctly awarding him with the goal he scored, which ended up being the deciding factor in a shootout where he was the only guy who was able to convert.
Frank Nazar’s shootout attempt was initially called a miss, but after review it was overturned and called a goal as the puck got stuck in the back of the net 😳
Chicago ultimately won the shootout. pic.twitter.com/1DmxR0Wf3A
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 15, 2025
At the end of the day, the right call was made, but it’s kind of baffling that it took a replay to determine Nazar scored (after the game, he said he knew it had gone in and was understandably confused after being informed it hadn’t counted when he got back to his bench).
There’s no telling what would have transpired if the error hadn’t been corrected, but it’s safe to assume Blue Jackets fans would have been apopleptic if Montreal had ultimately prevailed.
The Canadiens still hold the cards, as they’ll make it to the playoffs with a win of any kind over the Hurricanes on Wednesday. Columbus, on the other hand, needs Montreal to lose that game in regulation while also beating the Flyers and the Islanders in regulation on Tuesday and Thursday to sneak into the postseason.