"Before he made his getaway, the perpetrator demonstrated to the Blues' broadcasters how high his stick was when it deflected in the tying goal. He gestured about six feet above ice level, when the legal limit is four. Down the hall, a teammate chirped, "No goal, no goal.''

The admissions were too late to matter, video evidence deemed lacking to overturn the referees' decision. It counted, erasing the Devils' last lead with 5:50 left in regulation, the injustice compounded when New Jersey 's five-game winning streak ended in a 4-3 shootout loss last night in Newark."