• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MayorsManor.com

NHL blog, LA Kings hockey news and interviews from The Mayor

  • Radio Replay
  • Prospect Rankings
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / NHL / Coyotes / Drew Doughty’s play in Phoenix is helping shape NHL rules

Drew Doughty’s play in Phoenix is helping shape NHL rules

January 26, 2013 By John Hoven

As the Kings headed into the 2012 playoffs, defenseman Drew Doughty repeatedly promised to be on his best behavior – admitting that in the two prior years he let his emotions get the best of him during the post-season. This time around, he was committed to reducing the chirping and increasing the focus.

Things moved along swimmingly through the early going too.

First, the Kings knocked off the Canucks – a team Doughty puts his hatred for at a 10 on a 1-to-10 scale. There were no major issues in the series though.

Next, LA swept the St. Louis Blues. Again, model citizen.

However, during the ensuing five-game series with the Coyotes, you could slowly start to see cracks in the dam. Finally, it burst, about ten minutes into overtime of Game 5 when Doughty was whistled for interference…

But, was his displeasure with the call justified?

It depends who you ask. Several players at the time said they didn’t see it as a penalty.

Yet, three months later, the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department gathered a panel of NHLPA representatives, general managers, coaches and referees to review the standards used by on-ice officials.

They largely covered eight rules, including Interference.

When all was said and done, they issued the following statement about how Rule 56 should be called:

The consensus was that defenders should be allowed to engage/bump/hit an attacking player “immediately” after they released the puck on a dump in, but would be expected to release the attacker and pursue the puck or retreat to the slot following this initial contact. The same standard would be applied regardless of whether or not the attacking player was knocked down. Various time and space guidelines were discussed. However, it ultimately was decided that the “immediacy” of the contact had to be a determination made by the officials on a case by case basis. The measuring stick of 1/2 a second, occasionally used by Hockey Operations/Player Safety to determine lateness, was also mentioned as a guideline.

Pouring salt in the wound perhaps was the fact they used the Doughty penalty shown above as one of the specific examples in their accompanying video (shown here) and stated:

1) Example 1 Doughty on Whitney. It was determined that the initial bump had been immediate in this instance, but that a penalty was warranted because the defender had failed to release his opponent and elected to take an indirect route to the puck in order to impede the attacker.

Per the NHL, it was in fact a ‘by the book’ penalty.

Regardless, the Coyotes didn’t score on the power play.

So, instead of that one simple infraction becoming the turning point in the series – and the moment everybody remembered – it’s largely been forgotten about.

Well, except by the rules committee.

Others who watched that game are largely still talking about a play that took place about seven minutes later.

Let’s get into that one a little more next hour.

Follow @mayorNHL

Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please include a link to www.MayorsManor.com

http://podcasts.nhl.com/ops/interference_summit_revised2.mp4

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Coyotes, HockeyBlog, Kings, NHL Tagged With: Coyotes, Doughty, hockey, Kings, Los Angeles, Mayor, MayorsManor, NHL, Phoenix, Playoffs, Stanley Cup, video

About John Hoven

John Hoven is a former member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He's also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles and Hockey Blog of the Year. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" below for a full bio.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave says

    January 26, 2013 at 11:20 am

    Bad decision by the NHL if they’re using that BAD CALL as an example of a proper interference penalty.

    Doughty wasn’t able to “release his opponent” because his stick was being held the whole time!!!

Primary Sidebar

Kings Of The Podcast

Kings Of The Podcast: S2, E29 with AEG Sports COO Kelly Cheeseman

It’s finally happening! Fans will be welcomed back into Staples Center next week. With that in mind, there’s probably no better guest to bring on the show than AEG Sports COO Kelly Cheeseman. He’ll tell us all about what to expect that night, preparations made by the team, and what the future may look like […]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • NHL RADIO REPLAY: Mayor’s Minutes – Hoven on LA Kings Games Remaining, Byfield, and the Ducks
  • This Date in LA Kings History: April 20th
  • Tuesday: LA Kings Projected Lineup vs. Anaheim Ducks – First Home Game With Fans
  • Kings 2020 Draft Pick Signs AHL Deal with Ontario Reign
  • LA Kings Prospect Tracker, Week Ending April 18, 2021
  • 2021 NHL Draft Preview: Brandt Clarke, Canadian Defenseman
  • This Date in LA Kings History: April 19th
  • This Date in LA Kings History: April 18th
  • THE LINK: From Jeff Carter Trade in 2021 Back to Kings Pick in 1967 Expansion Draft
  • This Date in LA Kings History: April 17th

Tweets by mayorNHL

Footer

Archives

Tags

AHL Bernier Blackhawks Brown camp Carter Clifford coach comments Doughty draft Ducks Greene hockey interview Kings Kopitar Lombardi Los Angeles Manchester Mayor MayorsManor Mitchell Monarchs Murray NHL Ontario Penner Playoffs Prospect Quick quote Radio Reign Richards Sharks Stanley Cup Stoll Sutter Toffoli trade video WCB West Coast Bias Williams

MayorsManor

  • About Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Store

© 2021 MayorsManor.com