'It sucks, but those are the rules': Calgary Flames can't complain after video review proved their potential tying goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs involved sleight of hand

Connor Zary appeared to even the score in the third period, but the camera caught the puck going from Blake Coleman's hand to Jordan Oesterle to set up the play

The hand was quicker than the eye, but not the camera.

When the Calgary Flames believed Connor Zary’s third-period goal tied their clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, it set the stage for another Flames comeback victory and another Maple Leafs collapse.

Until the Maple Leafs coaching staff wisely called timeout, eyed closely the whole play and challenged that officials missed the puck went off Blake Coleman’s hand directly to teammate Jordan Oesterle seconds before Zary put it in the net.

After a closer look, the challenge was correct, a stoppage was missed, the goal was overturned and the Flames were unable to tie the game in their 4-3 loss at the Saddledome.

Frustrating for the Flames? You bet.

The right call? They agreed.

“It hit his hand, what are you going to do?” coach Ryan Huska said. “I mean, it’s not really a hand pass per se, but it hit his hand. So they took a long time to look at it, that is the right call.”

While Flames fans may want to call it yet another case of the league showing a bias against Calgary (join in unison: “It was in!”) and even worse helping the club from the Centre of the Hockey Universe, the team was unable to do the same, nor pinpoint the ruling as the cause of their loss. Miscues and not stopping Toronto star Auston Matthews was a bigger concern.

“They looked at it for a long time, so I assume it was the right call,” captain Mikael Backlund said.

"It sucks, but those are the rules now,” added defenceman Rasmus Andersson. “You know you can challenge, it is what it is, but we don’t lose the game there, we (lost) the game in the second period. Way too many turnovers in the neutral zone, against a team like that. If you give Matthews a pinky, he takes the whole hand."

The Flames benefited from a coach’s challenge, too, on Andrew Mangiapane’s late second-period tally to pull them to 4-3. After Mangiapane kicked the puck toward the net and it went across the line, the officials waived it off.

Huska challenged the puck hit the stick of Maple Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren, and review showed that was indeed correct, and the goal was awarded.

Upon further review: two correct calls.