Sunday saw a trifecta of broken stick penalties in the NHL with calls against the Kings’ Kevin Fiala, he Kraken’s Jared McCann, and the Panthers’ Gustav Forsling.

 

Los Angeles Kings – Kevin Fiala

Fiala’s penalty came late in the second period, with the Kings on the power play, trailing 4-3.  Fiala attempted a cross-ice pass to the blueline, snapping his stick in the process. The blade sailed out of the zone. Still holding the upper part of the shaft, Fiala kicked the puck along the boards.

Referee Beau Halkidis immediately blew the play dead, calling Fiala for the penalty.

From Rule 10.3:

A player without a stick may participate in the game.

A player whose stick is broken may participate in the game provided he drops the broken stick.

A minor penalty shall be imposed for an infraction of this rule.

While it’s true Fiala didn’t play the puck with his stick, the rule specifies that a player holding a broken stick may not participate in the play at all.  Had Fiala dropped the other half of the stick, he would have been legally able to play the puck.

The penalty proved costly, as Columbus scored on the resulting power play to take a 5-3 lead.

Seattle Kraken – Jared McCann

The same situation sent off Seattle’s Jared McCann. Late in Sunday’s game against the Florida Panthers, McCann – holding a broken stick – kicked the puck along the boards.  The Kraken forward looked puzzled as he was sent off the ice by referee Jon McIsaac.

You would’ve thought McCann would’ve been more aware, especially since there was a broken stick penalty called earlier that game.

Florida Panthers – Gustav Forsling

Forsling’s broken stick call was the easiest of the bunch.  The Florida defenseman didn’t just participate in the game — he attempted to play the puck with his broken stick.

Forsling’s stick snapped on a shot from the blue line that was blocked by Seattle’s André Burakovsky. The Panthers d-man instinctively went to collect the puck on the rebound. When your stick is broken, you can’t do that.

An easy two minutes from referee Peter MacDougall.

 

Three broken stick calls in one night should be a good reminder for the boys on the benches to make sure they flip through the rule book  once in a while. Keep those heads up… and drop those broken sticks.