"Yeah, Don, this is the war room. We can see that the net was probably off its moorings -- heck, any dope can figure that out -- but we're not sure where the pegs were. You know? It's a toughie. We're going to throw it back to you. Close game there, eh?"

Last night in Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets and the New Jersey Devils put on a wondrous display of hockey. Both teams were sound. The Devils launched swift attacks. The Jackets answered with a bludgeoning forecheck. The goaltending was superb.

And then those five little words were uttered, the words that can make 17,738 Jackets fans freeze with trepidation.

"The play is under review."

Prior to that damning announcement, Michael Peca won a faceoff against Devils center John Madden. Along the back wall behind the Jackets' net, Devils forward David Clarkson hauled down Fedor Tyutin and took the puck from him. Clarkson whipped around the back of the net in a wraparound attempt. The attempt was thwarted by Jackets goaltender Steve Mason, who made the stop and covered the puck with his left pad.

Important information: Referee Brian Pochmara suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the game and was not on the ice when this sequence took place -- in the 12th minute of the third period, when the game was in a 1-1 deadlock. Veteran referee Don Koharski, Jim Schoenfeld's classic favorite, was working solo. Koharski is one of the best in the business, but there was a lot going on here when the winning goal was scored.

Before Jackets defenseman Marc Methot could tackle him, Clarkson got a primo, Reggie Jackson-style, two-handed whack at Mason, who was waiting for a whistle -- desperately so, because he wasn't 100 percent sure where the puck was. Well, it was under his left pad until Clarkson whacked at him and fell on the post.

As the left post was leaving its moorings, the puck trickled out from under Mason's pad -- and Madden tucked it over the goal line. Koharski pointed at the net, a signal for a good goal.

"The play is under review."

Toronto looked at it. The best angle was from overhead. Clearly, the left post was 3 to 5 inches behind where it's supposed to be when the puck went over the goal line.

Rule 78.5 (x) states that a goal is to be disallowed "when the net becomes displaced accidentally. The goal frame is considered to be displaced if either or both goal pegs are no longer in their respective holes in the ice, or the net has come completely off one or both pegs, prior to or as the puck enters the goal."

Apparently, no one could ascertain the moment the net came off its left peg, least of all Koharski, who was looking at the other side of the net, where the puck was. There wasn't a second referee to help.

Obviously, the war room didn't want anything to do with the call. They left it to Koharski. What was he going to do? Reverse his own call?

And so the game-winning goal was scored, and the Devils skated off with a 2-1 victory. Everyone in the building could figure on the outcome as soon as the five little words were uttered.

For some reason, perhaps because they've yet to make the playoffs, the Jackets rarely get the benefit of doubt. Heck, they don't even get the clear calls. Remember Rick Nash's high stick in Minnesota? Manny Malhotra's kick-in in Dallas?

Last night, there could have been a hooking call on Madden, a slashing call on Clarkson and a no-goal call from Toronto -- all on the same play, the one that ultimately decided the game.

Where's the balance?

Mike Arace is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.

marace@dispatch.com