NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In the opening minutes of the second period in a deadlocked Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night, the Nashville Predators appeared to open the scoring. But a quick whistle from referee Kevin Pollock blew the play dead, depriving Nashville of a prime scoring opportunity on a play that could not be challenged or overturned by video replay.
The sequence began when Predators forward Filip Forsberg sped down the left wing and fired a shot at Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray 1 minute, 6 seconds into the second period. After Murray made the initial save, the puck trickled behind him and slid through the crease. It was then that center Colton Sissons poked the puck into the net.
But Pollock, situated in the corner facing Murray, blew the whistle, probably after losing sight of the puck and assuming Murray had retained possession.
After the game, Sissons said the official basically apologized to him. "It was a pretty quick whistle,'' Sissons said. "I think that's pretty obvious.''
The missed opportunity was protested by the Predators as well as the capacity crowd at Bridgestone Arena.
"You can discuss that all you want. Obviously 1-0 is better than a tight game. I think it should have been a goal but at the same time you can't do anything about it," Forsberg said.
The bizarre play wasn't the first call to go against the Predators in this series. Defenseman P.K. Subban opened the scoring in Game 1 of the Cup final, but that play was overturned after officials concluded following an incredibly close video replay that Forsberg was offside on the preceding zone entry.
"Obviously it's unfortunate. What are you going to do? It's over and done with. At the end of the day there's got to be a winner and a loser. It just sucks that we're on the losing side of it," Subban said
The Penguins won the game 2-0 to clinch the Stanley Cup Final.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.