Wacky Bounce Leads to Bizarre Red Wings Goal

By Jeff Pini

November 8, 2014

1 minute to read

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They don’t ask how they go in, they just ask how many.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall tallied a score for the bizarre goals highlight reel in his team’s 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

With just under 2:30 left in the second period and the Red Wings up 3-1, Kronwall took a shot from the blue line that went well wide of Devils goaltender Cory Schneider.

Then things took a strange turn. The puck bounced off of the boards, came back towards the unsuspecting Schenider, deflected off of his leg, and landed in the back of the net for the fourth Detroit goal of the night.

Before the beginning of the 2013-14 season, an NHL rule change was implemented that reduced the depth of nets from 44 to 40 inches and the sides from 20 to 18 inches, leaving more space behind the goal for skaters to maneuver and – as especially seen in this case – give the puck more room to take some wacky bounces.

This isn’t the first time that the Devils’ netminder has been beaten by a strange deflection off the boards. On Oct. 16 at Washington, Capitals forward Joel Ward took a shot from just inside the Devils zone that caromed off the boards and back into the crease, where it took a bounce off of Schneider and into his own net. Schneider was pulled from the game after that goal, the fifth he’d allowed in the contest.

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The Red Wings snapped a three-game losing streak with the win and look to keep trending upward on Sunday when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Devils hope to end a three-game skid on Monday when they come to the TD Garden to play the Bruins.