Thomas Jefferson on Luck: "The Harder I Work The More I Have Of It."
Puck Luck.
Hockey teams can't buy it. They can't trade for it. They can't train for it. But oh boy, do they know it when they see it.
Wednesday's 6-2 Seattle Kraken victory over the Chicago Blackhawks contained two of the strangest goals you'll ever see - and we have the visual proof.
Another Chicago Double Doink
A new phrase entered the sports lexicon on Jan. 6, 2019. A potential Chicago Bears playoff-winning field goal bounced off the left upright and then the crossbar, before refusing to go through. The "Double Doink" was born.
Barely seconds after the 2nd period puck drop, the Blackhawks suffered their own "Double Doink."
Alex Wennberg was the last Kraken to touch the puck. It's now in the possession of Hawks defenseman Seth Jones.
"Doink." Jones' pass - which may have been grazed by Andre Burakovsky (95) - kicks off the right boot of Alex Vlasic (72). This puts the Hawks in a pickle, because the puck makes a right turn toward the Chicago crease.
Unprepared for the weird carom, Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom misses his poke-check. No worries, though, because the puck is headed across the goal mouth.
Now it's time to worry. The puck "Double Doinks" off Soderblom's right skate, making another right turn across the goal line. Officially, the goal belongs to Wennberg, as the last player of the scoring team to make contact with the puck.
As seen on the NHL.com screengrab at left, the tally is officially listed an an "own" goal. I guess they were unfamiliar with the concept of the "Double Doink."
Tanev Puts Blackhawks On Edge
Later in the same period, Seattle's Brandon Tanev - who's due some - is the happy recipient of Puck Luck.
Tanev (13) is about to receive a cross-ice pass from Brian Dumoulin.
Tanev's one-timer comes off the heel of his stick, rolling on edge toward the Chicago net. Goalie Soderblom (red arrow) is still outside the opposite post, having played Dumoulin to shoot rather than pass.
Remarkably, as the puck makes its leisurely journey toward the blue paint, it's somehow STILL ON EDGE. Soderblom is desperately trying to get from post to post.
He doesn't make it in time. Tanev is as surprised as anyone that his stubbed shot attempt has found the back of the net for a 4-1 Kraken lead.
The blur circled in red is the puck (trust us). Here's the craziest part. Look at the minuscule amount of room between Soderblum's left skate and the post (red arrow). Had the puck laid flat instead of staying on edge, it might not have been skinny enough to squeeze through.
No wonder Tanev looked skyward, a pose usually reserved for when the puck doesn't cooperate. You just know he's thinking, "All the great shots I take that don't go in, but this one does."
That's Puck Luck for you.
