The Americans topped Russia in a shootout in their preliminary round matchup at the Winter Olympics on Saturday morning, but the game never would have reached a shootout if Fedor Tyutin's third-period goal wasn't disallowed.
USA goalie Jonathan Quick had kicked the net off its moorings ever so slightly before Tyutin put the puck across the goal line.
The Russians were pretty salty about it after the game, and defenseman Slava Voynov, who plays with Quick as a member of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, basically called him a cheater.
Voynov on Quick dislodging the net before the Tyutin disallowed goal: "I play with him. I know that's his style." #USAvRUS
— Dmitry Chesnokov (@dchesnokov) February 15, 2014
Here's Alex Ovechkin on the subject:
Ovechkin on no-goal: "Nobody touched the net. The goalie touched the net and pulled it out. But the referee didn’t give him two minutes."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 15, 2014
According to IIHF rules, if the net comes dislodged at all, the goal doesn't count. So it was the correct call according to the rulebook, even if it does seem like Quick could have done this on purpose -- and therefore, could do it basically all the time.
Nevertheless, Sergei Bobrovsky couldn't stop T.J. Oshie in the shootout, because T.J. Oshie is AMERICA.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• SB Nation's Winter Olympics medal tracker | Meet Team USA
• Team USA beats Russia in shootout | How T.J. Oshie became a hero
• Female snowboarder has "good luck mustache" | #Lookit
• Remembering the 1980 Miracle on Ice | Longform: Team USA's disaster in 1984
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis