Details on the infamous post that led to Tage Thompson’s goal

DansLesCoulisses.com
Details on the infamous post that led to Tage Thompson’s goal
Credit: Capture d'écran - Twitter (X)

Tage Thompson got very lucky with his goal on Tuesday night.

His clearance deflected off a metal rod along the glass and landed in the back of the Canadiens' net.

François-David Rouleau of the Journal de Montréal spoke with Patrick Couture and Yanick Beauchemin, two experts in arena design, to understand why the structure is set up this way at the Bell Centre.

The hinge responsible for this goal is the one on the Zamboni door. As explained in François-David Rouleau's article, this hinge is different from the others because it's used to open these doors, which open and close frequently during a single game.

Normally, when the door is properly closed, the risk of deflection is not very high, but as Patrick Couture and Yanick Beauchemin explained, all it takes is a buildup of ice or snow to prevent the door from closing completely.

That's when the hinge becomes more likely to cause unfortunate rebounds.

Despite all that, this situation is still a stroke of luck. Yanick Beauchemin even stated that even if you tried to recreate that famous shot all day long, the chances of getting a rebound like that are minimal.

What's crazy is that this isn't the first time a situation like this has occurred at the Bell Centre this season.

Nicolas Cloutier of TVA Sports found three other instances where the puck bounced in front of the net in this manner. The first, in January, allowed Lucas Raymond to beat Jacob Fowler.

The second, in March, led to a lucky goal by Phillip Danault, and the third, in April, gave Jakub Dobes quite a scare.

After so many incidents of this kind in a single season, it might be time for the Canadiens to find a solution to this little problem.

Jean-Charles Lajoie's quote to describe the situation is perfect: “The Forum had its ghosts. The Bell Centre has a cursed door.”


In a nutshell

– Martin St. Louis doesn't want to complain about the referees.

– One-game suspension for Brayden McNabb.

– High viewership ratings for the Avalanche-Wild series.

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