Murray’s Goal in Question

Glen Murray’s shot is quicker than the eye.

For that matter, it was quicker than the video-replay equipment at Staples Center on Sunday night, one minute into the Kings’ 6-5 loss to Phoenix.

Murray, steaming down the right wing, took a puck from Rob Blake and fired from 40 feet. A year ago, Murray’s shot was timed at 103 mph, fastest in the NHL, and he took nothing off this one, which appeared to beat Robert Esche on his stick side.

Or did it?

“It appeared as though the puck went into the net and lodged under the crossbar,” said Jim Christison, the NHL supervisor on duty. “The referee [Dan O’Halloran] called up and stopped the game. We looked and it was a goal.”

The game went on, despite the protest of Phoenix Coach Bobby Francis, who saw a replay on the video board above the ice and screamed, in vain, for justice. “I knew it wasn’t in. It was this far off,” said Murray, holding his hands a foot apart. “But I’ll take it.”

So will the Kings.

“We knew it wasn’t in, which is why I was screaming for them to drop the puck,” Coach Andy Murray said.

The problem with the review was that the monitor was showing snow and shadows, difficulty that was repaired shortly thereafter by in-house technicians.

“We looked at it during the next timeout and knew we had a problem,” Christison said.

After the first period, Christison and John Wenkalman, the video goal judge, looked again.

And looked. And looked.

Uh-oh.

“We’re not 100% certain,” Christison said.

True enough, the puck went up the back of the net and stopped at the top, but other camera angles indicated that it could have crawled up the back of the goal. That left Christison mystified, because the puck should have flown into space instead of stopping at the top of the net.

It didn’t.

The play will be reviewed by NHL officials in Toronto to determine whether the puck went into the net, but there is no question that a “1” went on the scoreboard and Murray was credited with his second goal of the season.

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Luc Robitaille’s goal in the first period came on Bryan Smolinski’s assist, the 200th of his NHL career. . . . Ziggy Palffy scored twice, the 200th and 201st of his career. . . . Robitaille and Palffy have had points in each of the Kings’ six games. . . . Rookie center Steve Reinprecht, who has played well in the early going, struggled Sunday night, losing 16 of 18 faceoffs.