Matt Duchene is in the midst of a nice bounce back season, after only posting 28 points in 58 games last season. His efforts this season have lead to his current four game goal and point streak, which has yielded eight points over the past four contests.
While hard work in the off-season, along with on the ice, has lead to his improved game this season, it also helps that he is catching some breaks.
Last night’s 6-5 victory over Nashville included one of the weirdest goals I have ever seen, scored by Duchene of course. On a play that was clearly offsides, Duchene skated the puck in and knowing that the whistle had not blown, continued to drive to the net. When he got close enough to the net, Duchene roofed his shot over Chris Mason’s glove to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
Everyone in a Nashville jersey was visibly upset by the blown call, and immediately went straight to the referees. Unfortunately, this play could not be reviewed and the goal was allowed.
”The league already verified that it should have been an offside,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said after the game.
”The explanation from the crew here was that we passed it back. We didn’t pass it back. That’s why they didn’t blow the whistle. The league’s already talked to us about it. There’s no fix. It’s just one of those things. Everybody has a bad day.”
Even Duchene was surprised that there was no whistle blown on the play.
”Even after I shot it, I thought maybe I missed something. Like I said, I didn’t see the play. It might have been a good call by the linesman, but from what I heard, it wasn’t.”
Take a look at the video below of Duchene’s goal and post your thoughts in the comments!
