The Ottawa Senators got a helping hand from the officials on their first goal of the game on Monday.
Ridly Greig opened the scoring for the Senators when he buried a puck in the slot past Vancouver Canucks goal Kevin Lankinen, but Greig only scored after a point shot had deflected to him off Shane Pinto's glove.
Pinto had put his hand over his face to protect himself from a friendly-fire shot by Artem Zub, and the puck deflected directly to Greig, who wasted no time scoring.
The Canucks challenged the play for a missed stoppage, but after the referees on the ice reviewed video, the goal was allowed to count.
In a statement, the NHL said that "The Situation Room supported the referee's on-ice decision that the puck deflected off Shane Pinto's glove, and was therefore not deemed a hand pass prior to Ridly Greig's goal."
Rule 79.1, Hand Pass, states in part that "If, in the opinion of the on-ice officials, the puck has deflected off a player’s hand, and no advantage has been gained by the team, it will not constitute a violation for the purpose of this rule."
This play adds to some confusion over the hand pass rule from earlier this season.
On Dec. 4, the Lightning had a goal taken off the board for a missed hand pass after a puck deflected off the glass and hit Brandon Hagel in the hand before Nikita Kucherov eventually scored. Then on Dec. 9, the Buffalo Sabres had a goal called back after a shot rebounded off Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, hit Alex Tuch in the hand and ricocheted to the stick of Tage Thompson, who deposited it into the net.
In both cases, the NHL ruled that the puck had been "directed" by the offending team, thus resulting in a hand pass.
However, on Dec. 6, the Florida Panthers scored a goal that counted despite the puck deflecting off Brad Marchand's glove along the boards before Carter Verhaeghe put it in the net. In that case, the NHL said the puck "deflected off Marchand's glove prior to Verhaeghe's goal, and, therefore, it was not deemed to be a hand pass."
