Did Canucks deserve penalty shot for glove shot?

Getty Images Sometimes there are moments in NHL games that strike you as curious from a rules perspective. Like, for example, when you see one player shoot his glove at an opposing player while on the penalty kill.

That’s what Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner did on Tuesday night with teammate Tom Wilson in the box against the Vancouver Canucks. Alzner lost his glove, and it sat near the Capitals’ goal crease. So he decided to clear it to the end boards … where, wouldn’t you know it, Daniel Sedin was standing with the puck!

It’s a fleeting moment in the game, but one worth mentioning, because by the letter of the law … it should have been a penalty shot.

From the NHL rulebook:

53.6 Penalty Shot - When any member of the defending team, including the Coach or any non-playing person, throws or shoots any part of a stick or any other object or piece of equipment at the puck or puck carrier in his defending zone, the Referee or Linesman shall allow the play to be completed and if a goal is not scored, a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending team. This shot shall be taken by the player designated by the Referee as the player fouled.

A goal was not scored on the play, by the way.

Alzner and the Caps would no doubt contend that he was merely clearing the glove to the end boards and not “shooting” it at the puck or puck carrier. But Alzner, as you can see, has a sinister mustache, and hence this must have been intentional.

via Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/did-canucks-deserve-penalty-shot-glove-shot-041431672--nhl.html