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Without timeout, Flames helpless to challenge Chicago game-winner (Video)

Greg Wyshynski
NHL
NHL

The Chicago Blackhawks’ game-winning goal against the Calgary Flames on Friday night was chaotic.

The initial shot from Artemi Panarin was high. Goalie Chad Johnson fought it off, but the puck hit the stick of defenseman T. J. Brodie and fell to the ice. Whether or not Marian Hossa got the puck as well is debatable, but he was given the goal for his 10th of the season. The Blackhawks escaped with a 3-2 win over the Flames.

Like we said, a bit chaotic. The kind of play you’d expect the Flames to challenge, as Hossa didn’t allow Johnson to reestablish in the crease.

Except they couldn’t challenge it. They didn’t have a timeout, as first-year coach Glen Gulutzan used his with 8:21 left in the game after an icing call.

Would he have used the coach’s challenge if he had one on the Blackhawks’ goal?

“Yes,” said Gulutzan after the loss. “We knew it was a high stick. We knew whose stick hit it. We would have challenged the goal.”

The Flames would have had a case, based on Rule 69.3: “If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.”

Blackhawks media, for what it’s worth, feel like their team dodged a bullet:

But again: No timeout, no coach’s challenge. And while that might infuriate some, its now a facet of game management that the Flames mismanaged against Chicago.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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