MONTREAL — It’s one thing to fool a goalie, but Frank Nazar had the whole building at Bell Centre fooled during the Chicago Blackhawks’ 4-3 shootout win Monday.
The fans, the referees, even his own teammates.
Nazar took the Hawks’ first try during the shootout against the Montreal Canadiens and flicked the puck into the upper netting. But it got stuck there and wasn’t easily visible unless you were standing behind the net.
Just about everyone not named Frank Nazar believed he missed it, and he wasn’t credited with a goal initially.
Nazar said, “I went through the line, I gave everybody fist-bumps, and everybody was like, ‘What are you doing?’ I get on the bench and go up to (Nick Foligno) and say, ‘I scored, right?’
“He goes, ‘No, nice try, bro.’ I’m like, ‘What?! I scored! I know I scored!’ Everyone is like, ‘No, nice try, though. It’s all right.’”
Foligno and Hawks interim coach Anders Sörensen shared similar accounts.
“Yeah, it was kind of odd,” Sörensen said. “I didn’t really see if it was in. It was kind of like one of those, is it in or not? And then he was coming by and giving high-fives to everybody, and some of the guys looked at me, and I’m like (thinking), ‘He must have scored.’
“But then we looked up and it had an ‘X.’”
Foligno said, “Frank was actually mad at all of us because we didn’t respond to his goal.
“He’s like, ‘I scored.’ I think I actually said, ‘Nice try.’ He looked at me. He’s like, ‘I scored.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ Everyone’s like, ‘What?’ … The whole building didn’t think he scored. I was confused by it all.
“I’ve never seen it before in a shootout.”
Play just carried on. Patrik Laine took his shot and was stuffed.
“It was kind of strange, and then Laine just went at it,” Sörensen said. “So we didn’t have a chance to (say) like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’”
However, the referees huddled by the video monitor before Teuvo Teräväinen took his shot, and Nazar was awarded the goal he scored all along.
Foligno said, “Thank god the ref said something, because none of us thought he scored.”
As it turned out, when Nick Suzuki failed to score on the Canadiens’ third attempt, Nazar’s goal became the game-winner.
“Big goal for us,” Sörensen said.
But that was just dessert: Nazar’s whole game served as his pièce de résistance.
His pass to Tyler Bertuzzi, set up like Nazar was taking the shot, put the Hawks on the board.
Nazar’s power-play goal broke a second-period stalemate, giving him a goal and an assist for a second straight game.
His motor at both ends impacted the game beyond the box score.
Sörensen said, “I thought he was dynamite. I thought he was the best player on the ice, both teams.”
He added, “Frank played a really, really mature, solid game tonight. You see what he can do and how he impacts the game. He was a part of every goal.
“It’s really, really exciting to see what he’s bringing and encouraging for years to come.”
Individual accolades aside, Nazar just appreciated playing in a meaningful game for once.
The Canadiens needed a win to clinch a playoff spot, and they played like the postseason had already started.
“Honestly, it’s really encouraging, being able to go out there and fight hard against a playoff team like them,” Nazar said. “They’re still trying to clinch their way into playoffs, so we knew they were going to come out hard today.
“We were able to come out and play our game and fight back from a 2-0 deficit, especially in this loud building. It shows a lot of resistance from this team and a lot of things to be proud about.”