Why Oilers didn’t challenge Lightning’s tying goal for offside

The Edmonton Oilers were only minutes away from a 1-0 victory when the Tampa Bay Lightning tied the game late in the third period.

The tying goal from Nick Paul came after a close entry at the blue line, and the Oilers spent a long time deliberating — even taking their time out — before deciding not to challenge for offside.

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At issue was the fact that the puck entered the Oilers’ offensive zone before Nikita Kucherov had exited it. However, the puck carrier — Paul — had his stick in the air as the puck entered the zone, and he didn’t touch it with his stick again until Kucherov was no longer offside.

“The player Paul has to touch the puck,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch explained. “And I believe Kucherov did touch the blue line before the puck was touched.”

The goal proved costly for the Oilers as the Lightning completed the 2-1 comeback with an overtime winner from Jake Guentzel. The loss dropped the Oilers to 1-3-1 in their past five games.