High stick? Draisaitl had close call before Oilers Game 4 winner


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The Edmonton Oilers needed a goal from Evan Bouchard with 39 seconds left to beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

They also needed Leon Draisaitl to bat the puck out of mid-air beforehand. Draisaitl disrupted Brock Boeser’s clearing attempt, helping Mattias Ekholm keep the puck in at the blue line.

It was incredible play by the Oilers’ superstar centre, but was it a high stick?

Sportsnet investigated the play post-game. It initially appeared that it could have been knocked out of the air above the 6-foot-2 centre’s shoulders.

If it were, the NHL should have reviewed the play and disallowed the goal.

Sportsnet eventually found an angle that appeared to show the puck was below Draisaitl’s shoulders, and thus it was a good goal.

Consequently, we averted two days of controversy before Game 5 in Vancouver on Thursday.

Source