Buffalo appeared to score the tying goal in the waning seconds Tuesday night, when Daniel Briere fired a shot on net that Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist put a pad on along the goal line. Television replays suggested the puck completely crossed the line, but it's hard to make that statement definitively as the puck disappears under Lundqvist's right pad at the moment of truth. A Briere goal would have tied the score 2-2 with 17 seconds remaining, and almost certainly would have forced overtime in a critical Game 4 matchup.

Neither an on-ice official nor the goal judge determined it was a goal, though it was a nearly impossible call for the goal judge. After extensive video review, there wasn't an angle that showed the puck completely across the goal line. When video can't definitively dispute the ruling on the ice, the ruling stands. So, Briere's shot did not count as a score and the Rangers held on to knot the Eastern semifinals series at two games apiece.

The delay to review the play was a long one. After the game, the careful wording of Bob Hall, the supervisor of officials, suggests the angle that would have given a no-doubt answer wasn't available to the video review crew. It didn't help that Lundqvist’s right leg pad obstructed the overhead angle.

The NHL has set up a review process for goals, so it's unfortunate that a definitive answer wasn't available for Briere's shot. It seemed to be a fairly easy play to get on camera, as there was no scrum in front of the net and a video recording from a number of angles in front of the net should have settled the issue. If the league has a review process in place, you would think there would be enough cameras utilized to solve any disputed goal. Cameras are imbedded in nets. Why not in the boards or in the glass?

The video review process has ended disputes, but often it does not provide a definitive answer. Sometimes it appears to get the call wrong. Briere thought that was the case when a reviewed Rangers goal against his team on Sunday was disallowed.

"I think they misjudged the one last game," Briere said after Tuesday's loss. "The Rangers' goal should've been a goal."

The Rangers went on to win that game anyway, but now the series has featured two controversial calls. We'll have to see whether the one that went against Buffalo Tuesday night will hang over this series long after it's over. That's still under review.