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Every season, situations arise in the NHL (and other leagues) in which linesmen report penalties to referees or make certain calls themselves -- excluding the new two-faceoff violation automatic penalty the NHL instituted --and confusion reigns because people inevitably protest, "Hey, wait a minute. Linesmen can't call penalties!"
Yes, they can in some instances. It depends on the circumstances.
The most recent situation arose on Monday night in the Arizona vs. Philadelphia game following an after-the-whistle scrum involved multiple players from both teams. A referee called Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn for roughing Jakub Voracek more zealously than the others who were pushing, shoving and hollering at one another.
Schenn went to the penalty box as the ice crew came out during a television timeout. In the meantime, the officials conferred. A linesman apparently informed the rest of the crew that he'd seen Voracek blatantly if somewhat inadvertently high-stick Schenn right in the face (as borne out by replays), which was what touched off Schenn's aggressive response against his former teammate amid all the other chaos.
Thus, after the initial call against only Schenn, a four-minute high sticking penalty was assessed to Voracek and a Philadelphia power play in which Voracek would been on the ice turned into an Arizona power play with Voracek in the box. To his credit, Voracek immediately accepted responsibility after the game, saying, "let's be honest, it was the right call."
Was the linesman within his rights to assist in having the penalty calls changed to more accurately reflect what transpired? One hundred percent, yes.
Linesmen are absolutely allowed to directly make calls if a potential major penalty is involved or to report other significant infractions he spotted but the referee missed. See
Rule 32.4 of the NHL Rule Book. In fact, it is not only allowed, it is the
responsibility of the linesman to "give to the Referees his interpretation of any incident that may have taken place."
In a major penalty situation, the linesman must report what he saw to the referee after the stoppage of play. Even if the referee missed the infraction,- the linesman's report can be the basis of a penalty call. Additionally, if the referee has decided to call a penalty, the linesman's report can be weighed in whether the ultimate call is a two-minute, four-minute or five-minute penalty. In this case, a four-minute penalty was assessed to Voracek.
Ideally, there would not have been such a long delay between the call on Schenn and the four-minute penalty on Voracek. However, the prime directive is always to get the calls right, and at least the most accurate and just set of calls were made in the end.
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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.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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