NHL Rules: Simple Way to Avoid Broken Stick Goals

There has been a lot of discussion about the NHL rules governing instant replay over the last few weeks.  During the Winter GM Meetings in Florida long discussions were held as to how to use instant replay in instances of goaltender interference.

Then, this weekend, an event showed how all the best placed plans fall apart once the real world hits.  In overtime of a game Sunday, between the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings, Justin Abdelkador ended it with a gritty in the crease goal.  On replay, available here on the NHL’s website, it was obvious that the goal was scored with a broken stick. As a reminder, that is against the rules.  Immediately, twitter became a sounding board for what should have happened and asked why this wasn’t being reviewed.  The answer came back as a simple, “It’s not reviewable.”

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I ask why not?  In an age where even late season games between non-playoff teams have at least four cameras on them, why are calls that can change the outcome of a game and determine playoff positioning not reviewable?  I understand that the powers that be in the NHL want to keep a cap on how long games last and that we are opening a Pandora’s Box if we want to start reviewing every penalty.  But isn’t it possible to write a few more open ended rules that allow common sense to dictate what would happen and how decisions could be made?

The situation reminded me of another goal that should have been overturned but wasn’t, and oddly enough went the Red Wings way.  Late in a game last year between the Los Angeles Kings and the Detroit Red Wings a puck bounced high off the netting and then off of King’s goaltender Jonathan Quick’s back and in for a Red Wings goal;  a tying goal that was scored with less than a minute to go and forced an overtime that the Red Wing’s went on to win.

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Instead of being reactionary and creating a new NHL rule for each and every situation let’s look a quick possible way to fix this with a short change to the rule book.  What if a few lines of the NHL rule book read:

“Any goal scored in the final minute of a period or during an overtime period may be reviewed by the War Room in Toronto and overturned if any action immediately proceeding it would have made it a disallowable goal.  The puck will then be set down for a face off in the offensive zone as if the goalie had iced the puck.”

I’m sure some of the wording isn’t perfect and it would need to go through the legalese that most rules do but a NHL rule like this would allow common sense to step in when a massive rulebook is holding back officials and a league that just want a fair game called.