The story behind the whacky goal that won the Wild a game

In a previous generation of hockey, intentionally knocking the net off its moorings could preserve a win. In the modern NHL, dislodging the net can cost you a goal. Or a game.

That was a hard lesson the Nashville Predators learned in St. Paul on Wednesday.

Marcus Johansson’s overtime winner for the Minnesota Wild was declared a goal after Predators goalie Justus Annunen appeared to use his left arm and leg to knock the net off kilter just as Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov were bearing down on the crease.

Instead of whistling the play dead, the referee on the scene signaled for a goal, giving the Wild a 3-2 win. He did so again a few minutes later after a video review by the league’s war room in Toronto.

How?

Per the official rule book of the NHL, rule 63.7 states that a goal can be awa