The Calgary Flames stepped foot on the ice in the third period down just a goal, and as hard as they pushed and how much Jacob Markstrom tried to keep them in it, Alexandre Carrier put the puck past Markstrom to give the Predators the 3–1 lead.
This was a controversial play as just moments before Carrier scored, Filip Forsberg appeared to throw the puck over the top of the net, which then floated down the crease, with MacKenzie Weegar attempting to clear it with it landing on Carrier’s stick to put into the net. The Flames challenged the play for a hand pass but were unsuccessful. Let’s dissect this further.
The hand pass challenge in question
Let’s take a look at the goal:
The puck was fed through the neutral zone to Forsberg down the wing, who pushed his way to the net to get a weak shot from a bad angle that was easily managed by Markstrom.
The puck would then bounce up in the air and Forsberg would use his hand to direct the puck over the net and attempt to bat it in with his stick from behind the net. Weegar would then clear the puck out from the front of the net, but it would float right to Carrier who would then put it into the net.
This is a better view of the play by Forsberg from behind the net. It’s not clear whether he closes his hand on the puck but it’s clear he directed the puck with his hand to the front of the net.
What does the NHL rulebook say?
Rule 79 in the NHL’s rulebook governs hand passes, which is when a player uses his open hand to bat or stop or push the puck and this in itself is legal. The exception is when the player “has directed the puck to a teammate or has allowed his team to gain an advantage…” This is in the eyes of the referee who then stops the puck for a faceoff.
If a player catches the puck and closes his hand on the puck that is a penalty under the rules. A player must place it or knock it down to the ice. They can also not bat the puck into the net directly with their hand.
In this case, the concern is whether Forsberg directed the puck to Carrier. However, because Weegar had possession of the puck for a second to clear the puck out of the front of the net, it negated the hand pass. Had the pass gone to Carrier directly, the Flames would’ve had a very strong case for a missed call.
Did it really matter for the Flames?
At the end of the day, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Flames. Markstrom did everything he could to keep the Flames in the game, but simply could not keep everything out. The team would go on to lose by a 4–2 score.
