Referee Chris Rooney’s arm hasn’t been up that long since grade school.
The veteran official, working career game 1,350, was forced to keep his arm up for 80 seconds during a delayed penalty call during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Tampa Bay forward Cedric Paquette was called for holding New York’s Matt Barzal. The Islanders were able to retain possession, continuing to move the puck in the offensive zone. The whistle didn’t sound until the Lightning touched the puck 1:20 later.
Rule 15.1 covers the details on calling a penalty.
Should an infraction of the rules which would call for a minor, major, misconduct, game misconduct or match penalty be committed by a player of the team not in control of the puck, the Referee shall raise his arm to signal the delayed calling of a penalty. When the team to be penalized gains control of the puck, the Referee will blow his whistle to stop play and impose the penalty on the offending player.
The Islanders were unable to score on the delayed call, despite well over a minute of the Lightning not touching the puck. New York managed four shots — all blocked by the Bolts. They were similarly ineffective on the power play, mustering just one shot on goal during their actual two-minute man-advantage.
New York has proven to be quite good at this skill. The Isles also forced a 43-second delayed call in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
The NHL does not track delayed penalty time as an official stat, making it tricky to search for the lengthiest delayed calls.
Ref Steve Kozari fielded a delayed penalty call against the Detroit Red Wings for 1:26 earlier this season. No penalty was ever called on the play. Columbus scored. FOr the record, it appeared it was going to be a boarding minor on Gustav Lindstrom.
Referee Trevor Hanson also bested Rooney’s mark with this 99-second delayed penalty from 2018.
Hanson called Detroit’s Mike Green for tripping at 8:16, with the Red Wings already on the power play. Ottawa wisely took their time retaining possession. Each second that ticked off was less potential 4-on-4 time and more time on the power play. The Senators pulled the goalie and played an impressive round of keep-away for 1:39, killing off all but seven seconds of their penalty for too many men on the ice.
The Phoenix Coyotes held off the power play for 49 seconds against the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015; Greg Kimmerly had that call.
Earlier this season, the Montreal Canadiens stretched out a delayed call for 48 seconds against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019-20 preseason.
