Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray appeared to make arguably the save of the season, first stopping Matthew Tkachuk with his backside, then gloving down a rebound right on the goal line.
The crowd at FLA Live Arena, dotted as always in South Beach with swaths of visiting Leafs fans, were not subtle about their astonishment at the grab.
And yet just a few short minutes and one replay review later, Murray’s larcenous grab was wiped clean off the board, taking Toronto’s early 1-0 lead with it.
Following the immediate play, referee Gord Dwyer was prompt in his initial call, emphatically waving the potential goal off from behind the Maple Leafs' net.
An automatic review of the play, however, revealed that despite Murray’s best efforts, the puck had crossed the line in its entirety. Matthew Tkachuk was then awarded his 35th of the season which knotted the game up at 1-1.
With the call on the ice as no goal, the evidence needed to be conclusive to reverse the decision. It was during a second look at the replays that, by the slimmest of margins, the puck did appear to cross the line through Murray’s glove which confirmed the goal.
While the evidence was viewed as definitive on the ice, armchair officials from across Twitter weren’t so confident in the decision, especially given that the call was made in just over a minute.
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