Scoring on the Toronto Maple Leafs is so nice, the Anaheim Ducks did it twice in the same sequence Wednesday night.
The shenanigans started when Toronto’s Trevor Smith and Richard Panik took separate penalties on the same shift, giving Anaheim a two-man advantage midway through the first period. The Leafs looked like they were going to successfully kill the 5-on-3, but things got weird with just four seconds remaining.
Anaheim forward Kyle Palmieri ripped a shot past Jonathan Bernier, but it popped out of the net so fast that the referee waved off the would-be goal. The play continued, with the puck finding Hampus Lindholm, who wristed a shot that very clearly beat Bernier.
All of that occurred in just five seconds.
The refs reviewed the play, eventually announcing the goal would be awarded to Palmieri, but the confusion didn’t end there. Referee Brad Watson had the unfortunate task of explaining the result to the crowd, and he got a little tripped up in the process as he accidentally refereed to Palmieri as being from Atlanta before quickly correcting himself.
There you have it, folks, the Maple Leafs’ season summed up in one shift. Check out the entire play in the video below.
Thumbnail photo via Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports Images
