Few could blame the Edmonton Oilers for feeling outraged following their 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars Friday night at Rexall Place.
Edmonton appeared to tie the game with 4.1 seconds remaining in the third period when Ales Hemsky controlled a rebound off a point shot by centre Jarret Stoll and beat Dallas goaltender Marty Turco from the slot.
Referee Mick McGeough, front, disallows a tying goal by Edmonton Oilers forward Ales Hemsky (83) against Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco Friday night at Rexall Place.
(Marc Bence/Canadian Press)
But referee Mick McGeough immediately waved off the goal, ruling that Shawn Horcoff had gloved the puck off the draw back to Stoll, a play that cannot be reviewed.
However, replays clearly showed that Horcoff won the faceoff cleanly, leaving the Oilers' bench frustrated with McGeough's decision.
McGeough admitted his mistake following the game.
"It was a blown call on my part," he said after the game. "It was poor judgment on my part. I thought he had his hand on the puck on the faceoff but it was his stick. My judgment was poor on the play."
The soldout crowd at Rexall Place littered the ice with debris after Hemsky's goal was waved off.
"It was a retarded call," Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish snapped. "There is no other explanation for it. I know he is a veteran official and at times I have found his antics humorous. But if this is the product of that, there is a problem.
"It was a ridiculous call. I had no idea what he had called. Nobody saw the hand pass on the play because quite clearly there wasn't one. It's beyond reason.
"He should be suspended."
Best start
The win gives Dallas (11-2-0) its best start in franchise history, while the Oilers (7-6-1) dropped their second consecutive home game.
Turco was sympathetic for the Oilers' outrage, but he said he heard the whistle and stopped moving on Hemsky's shot.
"The whistle had gone a long time before the puck went in," he said. "That's what we were going off of. It's a tough break for them. Who knows what would have happened.
"But the whistle went as he was shooting. I had already reacted to the whistle. I could have smothered it or swatted it away. I'm sure they are disappointed, but by no means should that be thought of as a possible goal."
Defenceman Trevor Daley's first goal of the season with 58 seconds remaining in the second proved to be the game-winner for the Stars.
Daley's harmless-looking point shot seemed to handcuff Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson.
Dallas took control for most of the third period with Turco turning back the Oilers at every turn.
Big lift from Sykora
The Oilers, however, caught a break as Petr Sykora scored his eighth goal of the year with only 1:25 remaining.
Given a big lift by Sykora's goal, McTavish pulled Roloson for the extra attacker, setting up the controversial ending.
The Stars opened the scoring in the first period with another disputed goal as Brendan Morrow directed a wrist shot to the Edmonton net that beat Roloson at 12:04.
The Oilers netminder immediately raced to officials claiming centre Eric Lindros had interfered on the play by bumping into him in the crease, but the goal was allowed to stand.
"It was pretty clear what happened to me but obviously not clear enough," said Roloson.
"He said I touched the puck but it doesn't really matter when a guy comes in the crease and takes me out of the play and they score a goal. It's a no goal and a penalty. It was blatant."
Stars strong in the first
The Stars then increased their lead by two goals with less than two minutes remaining in the first.
Dallas started on a 2-on-1 rush when Stu Barnes slipped a pass under the stick of a sprawled Jason Smith to Niklas Hagman, who buried his fourth goal of the season into the open net.
The Stars dominated the first period, outshooting Edmonton 14-5.
The Oilers cut Dallas's lead to 2-1 just 4:01 into the second period on a lucky play after forward Ryan Smyth's shot from behind the net hit the leg of Turco and went into the net.
Edmonton heads on a five-game road trip beginning in Montreal on Tuesday, hoping to improve on a 1-4 record.
The Stars travel to Vancouver for their second of a four-game road swing on Monday.
With files from the Canadian Press
