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The Patrick Sharp goal that opened the scoring in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning may have been the easiest one Sharp ever scored in his career. Tampa goalie Ben Bishop came way out of his net and bumped into defenseman Victor Hedman, with both men falling to the ice. With only a desperate Steven Stamkos in the vicinity, Sharp had an open net and tapped home the puck.
Someone on Facebook asked me an interesting rules question about this situation. With Bishop hopelessly out of position what would the proper call have been had Stamkos thrown his stick to break up the play: Would it have been a penalty shot or an automatic goal?
As long as the goalie is on the ice, no matter how far out of position he may be, it is a penalty shot (see Rule 53.6). Then go to rule 53.7: It is an automatic goal if the goalie has been removed from the ice and is on the bench.
In other words, not every thrown stick situation results in the same call under the NHL Rule Book. Another permutation is found under Rule 56.6; a situation that I once had arise during my officiating career during a game in Calgary with Al MacInnis as the shooter. A Vancouver player broke his stick and swung it around at MacInnis, trying to knock the puck away as MacInnis was now in the clear with no one else between himself and the goalie.
Deftly, MacInnis sidestepped the Vancouver player and unleased a shot. The puck pinged off the crossbar and went into the stands.
I called a penalty shot. Vancouver went ballistic and I was criticized afterwards for "not knowing the rule." Actually, it was the right call.
First of all, a goal was not scored on the play (see the aforementioned Rule 53.6). Technically, MacInnis did not even get a shot on goal on the play, because an attempted shot that hits the crossbar is not recorded as a shot on goal.
Calgary chose Robert Reichel to take the penalty shot. Under the rule of that time in this specific situation, the non-offending team could pick any player on the ice to take the penalty shot (under the current rule, the penalty shot shooter must be the player who was fouled on the original play so long as the official identifies a specifically affected player).
I can honestly say I never screwed up a rule in 20 years in any league. Further, my linesmen were always great in helping to make certain I stayed calm when I got challenged.
At any rate, the rule book could certainly stand some rewriting and streamlining but what do I know?
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.