Kirill Kaprizov had the release, the pass and what looked like a clean finish against Boston on Saturday. What he did not have was a goal. The Minnesota Wild winger’s one-timer from the right circle slipped into a tiny opening beneath the Bruins’ net, wedged between the mesh and the lower protective trim instead of crossing the goal line.
Key takeaways
- Kaprizov uncorked a one-timer off a feed from Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.
- The shot struck an unusual gap at the base of Boston’s goal rather than entering through the front.
- Fans initially reacted as if Minnesota had scored.
- The broadcast first appeared to read the play as a kick save by Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro.
- Officials had to retrieve the puck from underneath the net structure.
A finish that did not count
The play unfolded with Kaprizov set up in the right faceoff circle, where Spurgeon found him for a quick strike. Kaprizov hammered the puck toward DiPietro’s net, but it found the narrow space between the netting and the bottom trim designed to keep skates from catching underneath the cage.
From the stands, it briefly had all the signs of a Minnesota goal. The crowd rose, and the initial read on the broadcast was that DiPietro had turned the puck away with his pad.
Officials find the puck beneath the cage
Once play stopped, the officials traced the puck to its improbable resting place under the Bruins’ net. Because it never entered the goal through the opening, there was no goal for Kaprizov and no change to the scoreboard.
Kaprizov skated away wearing a wry grin, left with one of hockey’s stranger near-misses: a shot hard enough and accurate enough to beat the net itself, but not one that could count.
