Jeff Chiu/AP
San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski, right, lies on the ice next to Vegas Golden Knights center Cody Eakin during the third period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, April 23, 2019.
Thursday, June 20, 2019 | 8:20 p.m.
Hockey fans calling for expanded replay are getting their wish.
The NHL on Thursday announced a series of rule changes, which include reviews on major penalties and expanded coaches' challenges. The new rules will go into effect next season.
Calls for expanded replay soared among Golden Knights fans after the controversial ending to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Sharks. Cody Eakin was assessed a five-minute major and San Jose scored four goals on the ensuing power play to take the lead.
Under the new rules, referees are required to review all non-fighting major and match penalties, with the option of confirming the call or reducing it to a two-minute minor. They will not have the option to rescind the call completely.
Coaches can already challenge for offsides and goaltender interference, but now they can challenge goals that they feel should have been waved off but weren’t. This would have taken away another controversial Sharks goal, this time against the Blues in the Western Conference final, when a hand pass was missed.
Specifically, goals can be challenged if they were a result of hitting the netting, hand passes, high-sticked pucks and pucks that went out of play. If the challenge is unsuccessful, the team will be assessed a minor. Challenges are no longer based on the availability of timeouts, and a failed second challenge will result in a double-minor.
The league also changed a rule regarding player helmets, that if a player's helmet comes off, he must either leave the ice or replace it.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy