It was an eventful third period for the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights as the teams combined for four goals in just over three minutes -- the Canucks turned a one-goal deficit into a two-goal lead, only to give up two goals in quick succession on Monday.
But, amid the chaos, perhaps the most bizarre moment of the period was when the go-ahead goal for the Golden Knights was disallowed as a result of an errant camera lens falling onto the ice.
The incident occurred when Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot the puck around the boards in an attempt to clear the defensive zone, but instead hit a camera lens, sending the protective outer layer onto the ice. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone then scored, making it 5-4 midway through the third period.
Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau challenged the goal, arguing that the officials should have stopped the play once the lens hit the ice. The goal was called back and the game remained tied at 4-4.
The NHL said video review determined that the puck hit the camera and that the decision to disallow the goal was made in accordance with Rule 85.1, which states: "When a puck goes outside the playing area at either end or either side of the rink, strikes any obstacles above the playing surface other than the boards or glass, causes the glass, lighting, timing device or the supports to break, it shall be faced-off at the nearest face-off spot in the zone from where it was shot or deflected out of play."
The Canucks, however, were unable to capitalize on the lucky break and surrendered the eventual game-winning goal to defenceman Alex Pietrangelo with less than six minutes remaining in the third period.
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