ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 Like many in the stands at Grand Casino Arena on Tuesday night, Marcus Johansson wondered if one of the stranger game-winning overtime goals would stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea, honestly,\u201d Johansson said.<\/p>\n
With just over a minute left in overtime, Nashville Predators goalie Justus Annunen knocked the goal off its moorings as the Minnesota Wild\u2019s Kirill Kaprizov sent a cross-slot pass to Johansson, who was wide open for what looked like an easy tap-in. With the net off, Johansson put in his own rebound. Referee Trevor Hanson immediately signaled it was a goal, but there was an awkward moment when the Wild subtly celebrated and the Predators argued the call, which withstood a review.<\/p>\n
The NHL situation room said that \u201cvideo review supported the referees\u2019 call on the ice that the actions of Nashville\u2019s Justus Annunen caused the net to be displaced prior to the puck crossing the goal line. Therefore, the referees awarded Minnesota\u2019s Marcus Johansson with a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really know what happened,\u201d said Johansson, who played in his 997th career game. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if we were supposed to celebrate or not. Didn\u2019t know what the call was going to be. When it\u2019s pushed off like that, it\u2019s the right thing to do. Thankfully, I put it in even though the net wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nA TRULY WILD ENDING! \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n
Marcus Johansson secures the Subway Canada OT winner for Minnesota. pic.twitter.com\/By1CCyVZc2<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cJust by the physics of pushing, I don\u2019t think that was what he\u2019s trying to do,\u201d Predators coach Andrew Brunette said on whether he thought Annunen intentionally knocked the net off. \u201cI thought they\u2019d miss the net. If the net didn\u2019t dislodge, it would have ended up behind the net. Unfortunately, they didn\u2019t see it the same way. And we move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the second time the Preds goalie did it in the game, and he also nearly did it earlier in overtime on another Minnesota Wild rush.<\/p>\n
The awarded goal delivered the Wild a 3-2 overtime win after Nashville\u2019s Steven Stamkos tied the score with three-tenths of a second left in regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously weird, weird play,\u201d Stamkos said. \u201cI can see the confusion, but the confusing part for us was why it was so emphatically felt. Like, I get it. Listen, the net came off. But if the puck goes in right away, no problem if the net\u2019s off.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he missed the net, and the puck actually bounced back to him because the net was sideways, and then he hit the back of the net and it popped back. So my interpretation of the rule is that if the net wasn\u2019t off, that puck wouldn\u2019t have (come) back to him to have an open net. It would have went behind the net, and then the play would have been blown dead because the net was off. I understand the net came off. I don\u2019t think there was any intent from our goaltender to knock it off. It came off twice today, but our vantage point is obviously going to differ from theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Predators forward Michael McCarron: \u201cI don\u2019t know how the ref can stand there with a straight face and call it a goal, and then they call Toronto, and they still decide to call it a goal. I mean, I\u2019m dumbfounded. I feel like we got screwed tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision, the league said, was made in accordance with Rule 63.7, which states: \u201cIn the event that the goal post is displaced, either deliberately or accidentally, by a defending player, prior to the puck crossing the goal line between the normal position of the goal posts, the referee may award a goal. In order to award a goal in this situation, the goal post must have been displaced by the actions of a defending player, the attacking player must have an imminent scoring opportunity prior to the goal post being displaced, and it must be determined that the puck would have entered the net between the normal position of the goal posts.\u201d<\/p>\n
ESPN rules analyst and former NHL referee Dave Jackson posted on X that it was the \u201ccorrect call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIf defensive team knocks the net off intentionally or accidentally and the attacking team has an imminent scoring opportunity then the play is allowed to be completed. Correct call https:\/\/t.co\/Qn6XadnM3h<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Dave Jackson (@ESPNRefNHL) November 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cFrom my angle, when it happened originally, I didn\u2019t know he had knocked it off with his arm prior to the goal. I wasn\u2019t sure,\u201d Wild coach John Hynes said. \u201cBut then when I went back and watched it, I understood the call for sure and the rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last Friday, the NHL also awarded the Anaheim Ducks\u2019 Chris Kreider a goal in the third period when the Detroit Red Wings\u2019 John Gibson knocked the net off the moorings.<\/p>\n
\nJohn Gibson may have knocked the net off its moorings, but this Chris Kreider goal counts just the same.#FlyTogether<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/miUVIpql9o<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Victory+ (@victoryplustv) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Wild appeared headed for a win in regulation until Stamkos ripped a one-timer past Filip Gustavsson with 0.3 seconds left to force overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a helluva shot,\u201d Brunette said. \u201cThere\u2019s only a few players in the history of the NHL that can make that shot. And he made it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stamkos\u2019 tying goal could have been a gut punch for a Minnesota team that badly needed a win. The Wild had taken a one-goal lead on a Kaprizov power-play goal in the first period. It was his 32nd career game-opening goal, tying Mikko Koivu for the second most in Wild history (Zach Parise had 40). Former Gopher Matthew Wood tied it in the second period off a turnover by Tyler Pitlick. The fact that the Wild left the second period with a one-goal lead (thanks to a Zeev Buium power-play goal) was fortunate considering how sloppy they were all over the ice.<\/p>\n
Gustavsson was really good for Minnesota, stopping 32 of 34 shots.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like that game was, like, a little like a fruit salad,\u201d Gustavsson said. \u201cWe\u2019re good offensively, we\u2019re bad defensively, and then we\u2019re good defensively, and it was just, we couldn\u2019t be really solid for the whole 60 minutes, but that\u2019s how the game goes sometimes, and two points is ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minnesota finished a six-game homestand with a 2-2-2 record, though it gave a point to division rival Nashville.<\/p>\n
Second power-play unit contributing<\/p>\n
The past couple of years, the Wild haven\u2019t gotten a lot of production from the second power-play unit. One big reason is that the first unit is so successful and spends so much time in the offensive zone that the second unit barely gets to see the ice.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, it took until around midseason for Freddy Gaudreau to score the second unit\u2019s first goal of the season. Last year, it took until mid-November for Marco Rossi to score the unit\u2019s first.<\/p>\n
This season, the second power-play unit has six of the Wild\u2019s league-leading 17 power-play goals through 14 games.<\/p>\n
In the second period Tuesday, after Wood tied the score 1-1 during a one-sided middle frame for the Preds, the second unit came out to the ice, Ryan Hartman won a puck race and, seconds later, Buium redirected Brock Faber\u2019s point shot from the slot for his third goal of the season and a 2-1 Wild lead.<\/p>\n
\nDEFENSEMAN CHEM \ud83e\uddea pic.twitter.com\/SCZXceZXxE<\/a><\/p>\n