In the overseas NHL, thanks to Minnesota, a “back-and-forth” rule caused a stir, about the existence of which some fans and hockey players had no idea. And which do not apply in the Czech Extraliga.
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Watch how Minnesota dominated the three-on-three overtime after the goalie was pulled. | Video: NHL.com
The regular part of the NHL is sliding into the final fifth, the fight for the playoffs is at its peak.
With some teams below the edge of promotion, you can tell that they are playing for everything. A shining example is Minnesota, which tried an unprecedented maneuver in Sunday’s game against Nashville.
In the penultimate minute of the three-on-three five-minute overtime, she dismissed goalkeeper Marc-André Fleury and turned the sudden numerical advantage into a decisive hit with four skaters.
You may have already seen the same piece in the Czech Extraliga, maybe more than once.
But in the NHL, this is a complete rarity. Different rules apply. Whoever dismisses the goalkeeper in extra time and concedes not only does not get an additional point in the table, but also loses the point for a draw after regular time. So it ends up at zero. By default, the winners get two points.
In extralization, this deletion of a played point does not work. The loser in extra time gets a point in all circumstances – even after an unsuccessful game without a goalkeeper.
That’s why Minnesota caused such a stir.
“It’s not something you try every time. But our situation is that we want to be aggressive, we want to get two points. If we get one or none, it’s not going to benefit us. It has to be two,” said coach John Hynes.
Minnesota jumped up in the Western Conference standings thanks to a successful gamble. Eighth Vegas, which heavily armed itself before the transfer deadline, is six points behind. He will play 17 more games, one less than Vegas.
The funny thing is that while Hynes knew what he was doing, his charges usually had no idea that they would lose everything by conceding a goal into an empty net.
“So it’s a good thing we scored,” laughed goal scorer Matt Boldy when journalist Michael Russo pointed out the rule to him.
The content of the two paragraphs that on page 130 NHL rules even the experienced Fleury did not know that they adjust the dismissal of the goalkeeper in overtime. “But it makes sense. Without this regulation, teams would call off goalkeepers all the time,” he pointed out.
In the current setup, this is a completely exceptional step. Before Minnesota, Los Angeles last resorted to him in October 2017 on the ice of Boston.
However, it was a completely different case. The season had just started and the guests were not in a desperate situation, they did not need to gamble when collecting points.
They just had an interesting opportunity – a throw-in in the offensive zone less than a second before the end of overtime. That’s why they went into it with a goalkeeper on the substitution and four hockey players in the field.
Minimum time they took great advantage. Tyler Toffoli scored with a golfer after a cleanly won boule from Anže Kopitar. By the way, he was opposed by David Pastrňák, a winger who normally does not go for throw-ins, especially in the defensive zone.
