Sometimes you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Unfortunately for referee Frederick L’Ecuyer, he was that guy on Sunday.
Shorthanded and trailing by one, Rangers defenseman Nick Holden looked to move the puck up ice. His clearing attempt made it as far as the faceoff circle when its path was interrupted by the official. The puck caromed to the far boards where it was collected by Sens center Mike Hoffman. He found Mark Stone in the slot, who fired the puck past Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead.
The puck is considered in play when it deflects off an official, per Rule 85.4:
Play shall not be stopped if the puck touches an official anywhere on the rink, regardless of whether a team is shorthanded or not.
A puck that deflects back into the defending zone off an official who is in the neutral zone, will be deemed to be off-side as per Rule 83 – Off-side.
The puck striking or deflecting off an official does not automatically nullify a potential icing. When a puck deflects off an official and goes out of play, the ensuing face-off will take place at the face-off spot in the zone nearest to where the puck deflected off the official.
The only time a puck hitting an official will cause a stoppage is if it goes directly into the net.
If a goal is scored as a result of being deflected directly into the net off an official, the goal shall not be allowed
If there’s any debate, that is one of the situations eligible for video review, per Rule 38.4:
Situations Subject to Video Review – The following situations are subject to review by the Video Goal Judge:
…
v) Puck deflected directly into the net off an Official.
