Ref waves off late goal by Hawks

By foxsports
Published

A potential tiebreaking goal by the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of their second-round series against the Detroit Red Wings was waved off after referee Stephen Walkom blew the play dead because of a penalty call behind the play.

While Walkom was waving his arms to stop play, Niklas Hjalmarsson fired in a slap shot with 1:47 left in regulation Wednesday night.

Chicago forward Brandon Saad and Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey got tied up in front of the Red Wings bench, and they were given minor penalties.

The sellout crowd of 22,103 booed loudly when the goal was disallowed. The teams headed to overtime tied 1-1. The Blackhawks went on to win, 2-1, on Brent Seabrook's OT goal.

Walkom is in his second stint as an on-ice NHL referee after he served as the NHL's director of officiating from 2005-09.