Rule / Situation of the week
Be the Referee!!!
Welcome to our Rule/Situation(s) of Week!
Welcome back! We would like to apologize for last week as some technical difficulties have prevented us from posting our weekly column! To stay in the same topic, we then decided to name this week’s column “Need a Break?”.
In this column, we will go over the different details regulating the team’s time-outs and also the commercial time-outs during an NHL game.
Rule 87.1 states: Time-out – Each team shall be permitted to take one thirty-second time-out during the course of any game, regular season or playoffs. All players including goalkeepers on the ice at the time of the time-out will be allowed to go to their respective benches
This time-out must be taken during a normal stoppage of play. Only one time-out, commercial or team, shall be permitted at any one stoppage of play. For the purpose of this rule, a commercial time-out is deemed an “official time-out” and not charged to either team. No time-out shall be granted following a face-off violation and when a penalty shot has been awarded to either team by the Referee, no time-out will be granted once instructions have been given to the player taking the shot and the goalkeeper defending the shot. No time-out will also be granted during the shootout.
No warm-up involving pucks on the ice shall be permitted for a goalkeeper or replacement goalkeeper during a time-out. If, after one warning, this continues, the Referee shall assess a delay of game penalty to the offending team
SITUATION #1
During a face-off, one of the wingers encroaches into the face-off circle and the Linesman ejects the offending team’s center for a face-off violation. The defending team then requests a time-out as this affects their defensive zone coverage. Should this time-out be requested before the Linesman blows his whistle for the second face-off attempt?
ANSWER
No time-out shall be granted following a face-off violation. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #2
A Penalty Shot has been awarded to Team A. The Referees have instructed both the shooter and the goalkeeper on their responsibilities during the shot. Team B now indicates to the Linesman that they wish to take their time-out. What should the Linesman do?
ANSWER
The Linesman should inform the team requesting the time-out that no time-out may be granted once instructions have been given to the player taking the shot and the goalkeeper defending the shot. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #3
A Penalty Shot is awarded to Team A. Before the Referee is even able to get to the Penalty Box to report the Penalty Shot to the Off-Ice Official, the captain for Team B requests a time-out. Should this time-out request be granted?
ANSWER
Yes, this time-out request should be granted since the request was made prior to the Referee giving instructions to the player taking the shot and the goalkeeper defending the shot. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #4
Can a Team request a time-out during the Shootout?
ANSWER
No time-out will be granted during the Shootout. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #5
With 0:45 remaining in the third period, Team B gets called for an icing. Because they cannot make a line change and also because their players on the ice are exhausted, Team B coach request a time-out to the referee. The referee goes to the penalty box and announce the time-out. When the timekeeper signals with the horn the end of Team B’s thirty-second time-out, Team A now wants to take their time-out as well to get some extra rest time for their players as they are trailing by one goal. Is Team A’s request granted?
ANSWER
No, only one time-out, commercial or team, shall be permitted at any one stoppage of play. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #6
Late in the third period with the face-off in Team A’s defending zone, Team A’s goalkeeper is shaken up on the play and ends up leaving the game. Team A replaces the goalkeeper with their back-up. As the back-up goalkeeper is making his way to his position, the Coach of Team B requests a time-out. As the Timekeeper is being notified of the time-out to Team B, a Team A player has taken a couple of pucks from his Players’ Bench and proceeds to begin warming up the Team A goalkeeper. How do the officials handle this situation? Does Team A receive a penalty for their actions?
ANSWER
No warm-up involving pucks shall be permitted for goalkeeper or replacement goalkeeper during a time-out. If, after one warning, this continues, the Referee shall assess a delay of game penalty to the offending team. Rule 87.1
Commercial time-outs
There’s three commercial time-outs times scheduled for every period for every NHL game played. Commercial’s time-outs should be taken at the first whistle after the 14:00, 10:00 & 6:00 mark of each period and when both team are playing at even strength. There are a few rules that regulates the commercial time-outs during an NHL game:
– No commercial time-out after a goal.
– No commercial time-out after an icing play.
– No commercial time-out during a power-play.
– No commercial time-out in the last 30 seconds of the first and second period.
– No commercial time-out in the last 2 minutes of play in the third period.
– A minimum of 1 minute of playing time must be played between two commercial time-outs.
– An effort must be done also to identify the situations where a video review might happen in order to NOT go into a commercial time-out.
SITUATION #7
Both teams are playing at even strength and a delayed penalty is signaled against Team A #8. The whistle is the first of the period and the time on the clock indicate 13:58. Is a commercial break taken?
ANSWER
Yes. The determining factor here is the on-ice strength of both teams prior to the whistle.
SITUATION #8
After the 6:00 commercial time-out in the third period, Team A’s best player has a problem with his helmet and his coach wants him on the ice. In order to get more time to fix his equipment, Team A’s coach request a time-out. Is this request granted?
ANSWER
No. Only one time-out, commercial or team, shall be permitted at any one stoppage of play. Rule 87.1
SITUATION #9
A commercial time-out was taken with 12:38 left in the first period. The next stoppage of play occurs at the 10:00 mark. Is the commercial stoppage taken?
ANSWER
No. Although there as been more than a minute of playing time elapsed since the last commercial time-out, the commercial time-outs are taking at the first stoppage of play AFTER the 14:00, 10:00 & 6:00 mark. If the clock would have shown 9:59, then a commercial time-out would have been taken.
Hope you guys are rested now! See you next Monday!