Nashville Predators: New Rules Mean New Opportunities

Offsides Review Brings a New Challenge For Coaches

The league decided to try to limit coaches challenging an offsides call. Basically, the rule now states if a coach challenges an offsides call and loses, his team will receive a two-minute minor. This is a great change. Why? Nashville Predators fans needn’t look any further than the Stanley Cup finals to see how this rule may have helped the team.

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In Game 1, P.K. Subban scored an early goal on the road. It would have been a huge momentum gainer for the Nashville Predators. However, Pittsburgh Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, decided to throw the challenge flag (figuratively speaking of course). He believed the Predators entered the zone offside before scoring the goal. “Believed.” After a long review, and seemingly no visual evidence to suggest his intuition was correct, the referees determined Filip Forsberg lifted his skate a micrometer off of the ice before the puck crossed the blue line. Offsides!

Had the new rule been in place, Sullivan might not have challenged the call. It was way too close to tell. He most likely would not have risked the goal standing and then put his team on the penalty kill for losing the challenge. If that goal counted, who knows how the series would have turned out. I know, I know. Sour grapes, right?

In the end, the league recognized a problem with abuse of challenges. It has taken action to stop it. Kudos, NHL.