It might not seem like it, but the referees made the right call by allowing Edmonton’s Connor McDavid to shoot the puck at helmetless Kings goaltender David Rittich.
A blast from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard popped one the straps on Rittich’s mask, prompting the goaltender to shake it off. Play continued with the puck moving across to McDavid who fired a 94 MPH slapshot.
The officials blew the whistle just prior to McDavid’s shot, but not quickly enough to prevent him from shooting.
From Rule 9.6:
When a goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask and his team has control of the puck, play shall be stopped immediately to allow the goalkeeper the opportunity to regain his helmet and/or face mask. When the opposing team has control of the puck, play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate and impending scoring opportunity. This stoppage of play must be made by the Referee.
With the Oilers retaining possession, the officials rightfully allowed the play to continue. The lateral pass to McDavid was was made the play no longer an ‘immediate an impending’ scoring chance. If Bouchard fires the puck instead of passing, that goal would’ve potentially counted.
We saw a similar situation two seasons ago when Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck gave up a goal without his helmet.
“Those refs made a mistake, Hellebuyck said back in 2022, “but I feel that the rule needs to change so that the war room and the refs have the opportunity to realize that they made a mistake. They put me in danger. A lot of bad things that could have came from that. Plain and simple, when a goalie’s mask gets knocked off, the play needs to get blown dead.”
Referee T.J. Luxmore skated over to chat with Rittich after the play.
The refereeing in tonight’s #oilers #Kings game should really be questioned. Forget about terrible penalty calls again and again but we just watched 4 people with whistles almost let Riddich who was helmet less almost take a slap shot to the face.
— PJ Stock (@PJStock28) May 2, 2024
While everyone’s pointing at the refs, they should be directing their attention to the rule book.
Even more, they should take this up with the equipment manufacturers. If the league’s okay with allowing teams to play on when a goaltender has lost his mask, what have we done to improve mask straps to prevent this from happening in the first place?
Yes, it’s scary. Yes, it’s a possible player safety concern. But it’s one that the NHL has decided is worth the risk, rather than allowing goaltenders to get an immediate whistle for losing their masks.
The Edmonton Oilers went on to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 to win their opening round Stanley Cup Playoff series in five games. Referees for the game were T.J. Luxmore (#21) and Gord DWyer (#19), with Libor Suchanek (#60) and Scott Cherrey (#50) working the lines.
The Oilers will advance to face the Vancouver Canucks in the second round.
Jets’ Hellebuyck Loses Mask, Allows Goal, Demands Rule Change
