‘Too many men on the ice’ debate hangs over Kadri OT goal

Nazem Kadri‘s Game 4 overtime goal should’ve been one of those storybook, “Hollywood” moments. Instead, for many, the “too many men on the ice” debate hangs over that Kadri overtime winner.

Chances are, the debates were already happening. Still, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper added fuel to the “too many men on the ice” fire when he wondered if Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final would “still be happening” during his press conference.

“This one is going to sting much more than others, just because it was taking on … it was potentially … I don’t know … it’s hard for me. It’s going to be hard for me to speak. I’m going to have to speak. I’ll speak with you tomorrow,” Cooper said after Game 4, via ESPN. “You’re going to see what I mean when you see the winning goal. And my heart breaks for the players. Because we probably still should be playing.”

As Cooper mentioned, he may expand on those comments sometime on Thursday. For what it’s worth, Avs coach Jared Bednar didn’t think much of it.

Jared Bednar on 2-many men: pic.twitter.com/fARDeHmunO

— Michael Traikos (@Michael_Traikos) June 23, 2022

Watch that Kadri OT goal, starting with an alert pass by Darcy Kuemper, and a nice breakout by Artturi Lehkonen:

Initially, the focus was on how hard it was to detect that the puck was in the net. Clearly, the conversation eventually morphed into something else.

For what it’s worth, the NHL released the following statement on the matter:

Statement from NHL Hockey Operations on OT Game 4-winning goal: pic.twitter.com/U4dXa2GDTe

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) June 23, 2022

This statement arose as people were really getting in the weeds. People noted that Erik Johnson was listed on the ice on a game sheet, which was then edited?