Monday’s Game 6 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings was not without controversy.
Blackhawks’ forward Bryan Bickell scored to give his team the lead early in the third period, banging home a rebound after some good work along the boards from Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks went on to win by a final score of 4-3, forcing a Game 7 in this Western Conference semifinal.
But just seconds before the goal, there was some question as to whether the Blackhawks’ re-entry into the offensive zone should’ve actually be called on the offside. The replay shows the puck comes outside the blue line, with Toews still trapped in the Detroit zone.
Red Wings’ forward Johan Franzen appeared to bring the puck back into his zone, which eliminates the offside.
Those operating the NHL’s public relations’ Twitter account took to the social media site to explain why there was no offside call. Here is the NHL rule (83 - offside): “If a player legally carries or passes the puck back into his own defending zone while a player of the opposing team is in such defending zone, the off-side shall be ignored and play permitted to continue.”