The New York Rangers issued the first Coach’s Challenge of the 2021-22 season, and it was a successful one.
Coach Gerard Gallant challenged the Capitals’ zone entry just prior to an apparent goal from Nick Jensen. Linesmen Jonny Murray and Mark Shewchyk donned the headsets and conferred with the NHL’s Situation Room. After review, the goal was disallowed.
The league confirmed that Washington’s Daniel Sprong entered the attacking zone prior to the puck completely clearing the leading edge of the blueline. Lars Eller, who carried the puck over the line, also entered ahead of the puck but may have been deemed to have been in possession at the time of the zone entry.
From the NHL:
According to Rule 38.9, “The standard for overturning the call in the event of a “GOAL” call on the ice is that the NHL Situation Room, after reviewing any and all available replays and consulting with the On-Ice Official(s), determines that one or more Players on the attacking team preceded the puck into the attacking zone prior to the goal being scored and that, as a result, the play should have been stopped for an “Off-Side” infraction; where this standard is met, the goal will be disallowed.”
The clock is reset to show 10:40 (9:20 elapsed time), when the off-side infraction occurred.
Follow along with the 2021-22 NHL Coach’s Challenge Tracker