Toronto Maple Leafs pivot Auston Matthews and the vast majority of Leafs Nation thought he had matched an NHL record previously held by Steve Yzerman and Pavel Bure on Wednesday night, after redirecting a puck into the Rangers' net off of his skate.
There was some discussion on whether or not the play should stand, but there appeared to be more of a focus on whether Leafs captain John Tavares had knocked the puck down with a high stick. Ultimately, it was deemed that Tavares did not touch the puck with a high stick, but then the attention quickly turned to whether or not Matthews had used a "distinct kicking motion".
The review was not very long and the goal was ultimately called back, which is a bit of a surprise, given the fact that it was not egregious and that the call on the ice was a good goal.
While the clip below from TicTacTOmar is not a full speed clip and it does show Matthews inching his toe forward after redirecting the puck, it did not reflect what we saw at full speed, which was a redirection with a very slight forward motion.
If reviews on plays are not definitive, the call on the ice typically stands, however, nobody seems to really know what is and is not a penalty, offside, goalie interference or kicking motion anymore. At this point, it appears to be all at the discretion of the officials. Unfortunately, in this case, it cost Auston Matthews a share of a longstanding NHL record.
