St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington picked up a delay of game penalty for removing his helmet during a loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Blues defenseman Dakota Joshua bumped Winnipeg’s Kristain Vesalainen, who ran into Binnington late in the third period of Sunday’s game. The St. Louis netminder lost his stick in the collision. One of his helmet straps also came undone.
Play continued until Binnington reached up and removed his helmet, tossing it in the direction of referee T.J. Luxmore.
Luxmore correctly blew the whistle and issued the goaltender a minor penalty.
Rule 9.6 covers helmets:
When a goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask in order to secure a stoppage of play, the Referee shall stop play as outlined above and assess the goalkeeper a minor penalty for delay of game. If the goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask when the opposing team is on a breakaway, during the course of a penalty shot or shootout attempt, the Referee shall stop play and award a goal to the non-offending team.
Had Binnington lost his helmet, play would have been stopped once the Blues controlled the puck. By removing it himself, he got an immediate whistle — and a penalty. Remember, the rule is based on how the helmet actually comes off, not whether or not a strap is loose.
Binnington was warned by the officials after an earlier sequence also left him without his helmet.
“He can’t take his helmet off. He can’t just take it off,” said Blues coach Craig Berube. “His strap was undone for a bit, but when they have momentum like that, Binner’s not allowed to just take his helmet off.”
Both the Blues – shorthanded – and Jets managed to score on the ensuing penalty.
Winnipeg won the game 4-2. Referees for the game were T.J. Luxmore and Beau Halkidis; linesmen were Andrew Smith and Vaughan Rody.
