Jarome Iginla scored two goals in Calgary's 3-2 win in Dallas on Wednesday night, including the game-winner on a power play just 1:25 into overtime. The big story that a lot of people are talking about this morning, however, is how Calgary found itself on the power play to begin with. Stars defenseman Nicklas Grossman was sent to the box for delay of game for shooting the puck out of play in the defensive zone. The only problem? He wasn't in the defensive zone when he played the puck.
Brandon Worley at Defending Big D refused to blame the loss on the penalty in his recap:
Before anyone goes and blames the penalty call for the loss, this game was filled with missed opportunities by the Stars. Dallas outshot Calgary by a healthy margin, put pressure on the Flames for nearly the entire game but failed to take advantage of the chances they had early to put the game out of reach. The Stars had multiple power play opportunities early, including a lengthy 5 on 3. While they were able to muster some good chances Curtis McElhinney made some great saves early to keep the Stars out of the net. Once that started to happen you could see Dallas start to try and get that perfect cross-ice pass to open up a clear shot; with the defensive corps that Calgary has, that proved to be nearly impossible.Fair points. And I'm definitely not one to blame referees for losses, especially when the Stars surrendered the game-tying goal to force overtime with just 49 seconds to play in regulation.
But how can officials, right on top of the play, blow such a black-and-white call when the play is unfolding right in front of them? It's not like there's a lot of gray area here.
From the NHL rulebook: When any player or goalkeeper, while in his defending zone, shoots the puck directly (non-deflected) out of the playing surface, except where there is no glass, a penalty shall be assessed for delaying the game. When the puck is shot into the players' bench, the penalty will not apply. When the puck is shot over the glass 'behind' the players' bench, the penalty will be assessed.
He's either in the defensive zone or he's not ... and he's clearly not.
