Michael Latta celebrates a goal. (Photo credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The Washington Capitals brought their B-team players to Boston on Monday, but the Boston Bruins brought in their B-team scorekeepers. According to them, the Bruins led shots 38-14. Okay, maybe. But also according to them, the Caps’ third-period goal was scored by Martin Erat and assisted by Nate Schmidt and Mikhail Grabovski.
No. It was Michael Latta‘s. Really. Let’s take a look.
As Latta skates across the high slot, he deflects Schmidt’s pass on net. The puck squeaks through traffic in front and sits just beyond the goal line of the left post. There’s no evidence that Martin Erat even touches the puck while he hacks at it. And even if he did, it most likely happened after the puck crossed the goal line. The goal should have been Latta’s, and Schmidt and Grabovski should have been credited with assists. Latta didn’t even get credited with an assist on the goal, despite clearly touching the puck.
With Latta surviving another round of cuts this morning, every play matters– especially a goal against the Eastern Conference champion. The good news is that John Walton seemed to get the call right on the radio, and video coach Brett Leonhardt is certainly on the ball. It’s just unfortunate the Bruins scorekeepers couldn’t do their jobs correctly when Latta did his.