Devils did not commit a sin
Jan 8, 2009
To clear up some points on the Hurricanes/Devils game that might have caused confusion. The NHL a few years back did change the icing rule where as the offending team that dumped the puck is not allowed to change any of the skaters on the ice at the time of the icing, however the league has always allowed teams to return their goaltender into the net after icing the puck.
I won’t bore you with the entire icing rule from the NHL book, but here is the important part.
Rule 65 h.
(NEW for 2005-06) Any team that is in violation of this Rule (icing) shall not be permitted to make any player substitutions prior to the ensuing face-off. However, a team in violation of this Rule shall be permitted to make a player substitution in order to replace a goalkeeper who had been substituted for an extra attacker.
(NOTE) A team in violation of this Rule shall be permitted to make a player substitution in order to replace an injured player.
Also there is no rule in place as to when a team can pull their goaltender; it is just customary to do it late in a one goal game. A team can lift the goalie whenever they want to and it had been done in non traditional points in consecutive nights. The Devils did this on the power play and scored Tuesday night against Carolina, Pittsburgh did this Monday against the New York rangers and gave up a short handed goal.
In case you hadn’t noticed the Canes are in 7th place in the Eastern and on a winning streak playing simple hockey, as noted in Ryan Craig’s outstanding blog, the team is buying into Paul Maurice’s style of play and it is a style that is better suited for this Canes team. A high risk, fast-pace style of hockey is great when you have that kind of team, but this line-up is best when playing team defense and counter punching.
The line combinations are at a confidence high, with Matt Cullen, Chad LaRose and Scott Walker providing energy and grit. This line has only been together for two games, Walker replaced Justin Williams on this line, but the intensity with which they play sparks the team and Tuesday night sparked the crowd with the maximum effort with each shift.
The big key to the Canes’ recent turnaround has been goalie Cam Ward playing at an elite level. The defensive responsibility of the team has allowed Ward to see fewer shots and face fewer scoring chances. Ward has played in 11 of the last 12 contests posting a 2.09 goals against going 8-2-1 in that stretch which has put the Hurricanes into the thick of the playoff chase.
If Carolina continues to play at this level there should be no question about post season play in the team’s future except how many rounds will they go.
