Jay Beagle's save tops NHL Network's wacky plays list

There were sticks and pucks caught in visors and pants, kids getting puppies because players scored, and improbable goals that bounced off the glass and a goalie's back.
The 2015-16 NHL season had its share of bizarre yet memorable moments.
Researchers and producers from NHL Network picked their top 10 wacky plays from the 2015-16 season for a special program to be broadcast during the summer. Here are the plays they selected:

1. Jay Beagle's crazy stick save
It was perhaps the save of the season, and it was made by a forward, not a goalie.
In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on May 10, Beagle temporarily saved Washington's season with an incredible stick save.
With the Capitals trailing 3-2 in the best-of-7 series and the game less than three minutes into overtime, goalie Braden Holtby made a save against Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley, but the rebound came to Pittsburgh forward Patric Hornqvist, who seemingly had an easy goal with Holtby out of position. Into the crease skated Beagle, who knocked the puck out of midair with his stick, keeping it out of the net.
Unfortunately for Beagle and the Capitals, they lost the game and the series when forward Nick Bonino scored at 6:32 to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 win.
2. Dan Girardi gets puck stuck in visor
During the third period of a game between the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Feb. 27, Girardi and Dallas defenseman Jamie Oleksiak were battling for a loose puck in the corner to the right of New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
The puck popped in the air and somehow got stuck in Girardi's visor. Play was stopped, and Girardi let it stay there for a few seconds while he, the players and officials got a good laugh. Girardi, who looked like he was wearing a patch over his left eye, removed the puck before play resumed.
3. Craig Smith denies himself OT goal
Smith would have scored in overtime for the Nashville Predators against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Feb. 22, but because of an odd bounce, he ended up stopping his own shot from crossing the goal line.
With less than a minute remaining in OT, Smith had a 2-on-1 with Predators forward Mike Ribeiro. Smith appeared to have an easy tap-in goal after the two exchanged passes, but his stick ended up hitting the puck again, stopping it from crossing the goal line.
Smith got the last laugh a few minutes later, though, when he scored the deciding goal in a 2-1 shootout win.

4. Dmitry Orlov's sneaky goal
The outcome of the Nov. 21 game between the Capitals and Colorado Avalanche at Verizon Center was pretty much decided when Orlov pulled a fast one on everyone on the ice.
The Washington defenseman scored for a 6-2 lead at 10:07 of the third period, but the goal came when most on the ice thought play had been stopped. Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard made the save on Orlov's initial shot, but the puck was loose and bounced off the back of Orlov, who casually skated around the net and put in the rebound.
Pickard, who thought the puck was caught in his uniform, was out of position. By the time Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie realized Orlov had the puck, he was unable to block the shot in front.

5. Referee Wes McCauley's goal call
The San Jose Sharks clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with their 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on March 28, but that wasn't remembered as much as McCauley's good-goal call after Sharks forward Melker Karlsson scored late in the game.
The puck hit off Karlsson's skate and deflected into the net at 16:41 of the third period to give San Jose a 4-2 lead. After looking at the replays, McCauley announced the decision in dramatic fashion.
"After reviewing the play, the call on the ice ... stands," McCauley said, pointing to center ice. "We got a goal!"
The video of McCauley's goal call went viral and was a trending topic on Twitter the following day.

6. Lundqvist gets puck caught in pants
Lundqvist's nickname is "King," but in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 10, it could've been changed to "Magician" after he made a puck disappear.
The Rangers goalie made a sprawling save on forward Ryan Johansen in the first period. Lundqvist was on his back on the ice and didn't know if the puck was underneath him or in the net.
Lundqvist checked his pants, jersey and pads, and even got assistance from the referee, who also was unable to locate the puck. Eventually, after a few shakes of his left leg, the puck fell out of his pad.

7. Carter Hutton flips over Marcus Foligno in race for puck
Hutton did the flip but was unable to stick the landing.
The Predators goalie was upended by Foligno in the third period of the Nov. 25 game at the Buffalo Sabres during a race for the puck. With Nashville on a power play, Hutton was trying to get to the puck to create a rush. But Foligno, on the penalty kill, raced down the ice and dove with his stick extended to try to get there first. Hutton won the race and chipped the puck off the board, but he flipped over Foligno, falling to the ice and losing his helmet in the process.
Neither player was injured, but Foligno was given a penalty for goalie interference.
"I just tried to elevate it, and he caught my legs and sent me for the old flip-a-rooskie," Hutton said. "I've got to work on my landing, that's for sure."

8. Antoine Roussel scores pinball goal
Roussel used his soccer instincts to score one of the strangest goals of the season.
The Dallas forward opened the scoring in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center on April 16, but the goal initially was waved off.
Roussel was behind the Wild net when the puck came to him, ricocheted off his skate, went over the net and off goalie Devan Dubnyk's shoulder before crossing the goal line at 3:54 of the second period. Dubnyk knocked the net off its moorings in an attempt to keep the puck out, but the no-goal call was overturned after the play was reviewed.

9. Cam Atkinson scores goal, fan gets a puppy
Maddie Wright celebrated her ninth birthday at the Blue Jackets-Canadiens game at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 25 and held a sign that read, "Dad said if 13 scores on my birthday, we get a dog."
Atkinson, who wears No. 13, not only scored in the first period to make Maddie's wish come true, but the Blue Jackets forward got his third NHL hat trick.
"There's always a chance, right?" Maddie's father, Brian Wright, said after the goal. "And there we were. And at that point, I knew I couldn't go back on my word. She was ecstatic."
Atkinson helped pay for the adoption of the rescue dog, a Labrador that the Wrights naturally named Cam.

10. Bobby Ryan starts dog-for-goal trend
During warmups before the Jan. 24 game between the Ottawa Senators and Rangers at Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa fan Cole Jensen held up a sign that read, "Bobby, Dad said if you score, we get a puppy!"
Ryan obliged, scoring with 20 seconds left in the second period of a 3-0 Senators win. The Ottawa forward said he saw the boy's sign during warmups and heard some of an interview with the Jensens when it was broadcast in the arena.
"They've been bugging me for months to get this dog, and I thought, 'Hey, if I make a bet and they lose, at least I'm scot-free,'" Cole's dad, Warren Jensen, said. "I just shouldn't have picked such a talented player like Bobby Ryan. I should have picked someone else."
Cole Jensen said he had been asking his parents for a dog for three months. He named the Pomsky he got Bobby.
Had Ryan scored a second goal, he apparently would've been on the hook for buying a second dog.
"I wanted to get the poor kid a dog," Ryan said. "I couldn't really hear what was going on, I couldn't understand much of [the interview]. But I heard I was buying [another dog] if I scored another one, or something like that. That was a fair deal. I would have done that for them. I saved myself some money at least."