If football is a game of inches, then hockey must be a game of millimeters or even nanometers because it certainly was in Utah's game against Calgary.
And depending on who you ask, that tiny margin was either the sliver of white ice visible between the puck and the goal line or the fraction of the puck still touching the red line
The goal does not count for Calgary. 👀 pic.twitter.com/zKi6HdSNjQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2025
At the beginning of the second, with Utah leading 1-0, a sudden challenge from Calgary was issued on whether or not the puck crossed the line and if Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka actually saved it.
As the officials reviewed the play, what initially seemed like a clear save suddenly became a polarizing decision when a deflected puck off Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone came dangerously close to crossing the goal line for Calgary's first goal.
After the review was finished, it was deemed that, even with the puck being as close to going in as it could be, Calgary would not be awarded a goal.
If Vejmelka had reacted a tenth of a second later, Calgary would have tied the game up 1-1 and the dynamic of this game would have been very different.
Instead, Utah's Barrett Hayton would score Utah's second goal of the game just thirty seconds after the review ended.
Backhander Barrett 🔥#EasyToCelebrate | @budlightpic.twitter.com/umZcLaE65g
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 2, 2025
The play began when Utah’s Nick Schmaltz stole the puck from Calgary in the neutral zone.
With Calgary having only two defenders back—one covering Schmaltz in the middle of the ice—Barrett Hayton and Sean Durzi worked together, passing back and forth before Hayton found an opening and fired a shot, putting Utah up 2-0.
What had looked like a tied game was now fully in Utah’s control, thanks to one of Vejmelka’s clutch saves of the night.
"It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of him. He's a competitor...he loves doing it," said Hayton. "It's a lot of confidence in a guy like that, and you see it every day. We know he kicks, but still, he makes some saves out there that are just crazy."
POSTGAME
— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) April 2, 2025
"It's part of the playoff game, the playoff style of hockey. Obviously, we learn a lot from those kinds of games and it's part of it too."@utahhockeyclub Karel Vejmelka on his teammates showing up for him pic.twitter.com/5Qp5E67FRA
In a night where Vejmelka saved all but one shot of his 34 saves,
Topics in this Story
