Roman Josi wowed fans and announcers alike by making a glove save during the first period of the Predators’ game against the Dallas Stars today, while goalie Juuse Saros was out of position.
But was it legal?
The 2023-24 NHL rulebook covers penalties, penalty shots, and awarded goals for interference with the puck under certain circumstances. The take going around Twitter on the play that Josi made is that it should have been a penalty shot, which would be covered under rule 67.4:
If a defending player, except a goalkeeper, while play is in progress, falls on the puck, holds the puck, picks up the puck, or gathers the puck into his body or hands from the ice in the goal crease area, the play shall be stopped immediately and a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending team. See also Rule 63 – Delaying the Game.
It’s difficult to tell from the TV angle, which is from behind as well as from the right side of the net, while Josi made the save with his left hand. A front or left angle might show something different, but let’s go through the list of infractions covered in rule 67.4.
- falls on the puck? Definitely not. Josi remained upright for the entire play.
- holds the puck? Maybe, and this is the one where the camera angle really comes into play. It looked as if he tossed it out of his hand as soon as he redirected it, possibly without ever even closing his fingers around it.
- picks up the puck? That would be stretching the definition of “picks up,” and “catches” isn’t listed as a penalty.
- gathers the puck into his body or hands from the ice? Definitely not. The puck didn’t touch the ice until after it had left contact with Josi.
What’s really interesting is that rule 67.4 currently doesn’t actually cover closing one’s hand around the puck. That’s covered by rule 67.2:
A player shall be permitted to catch the puck out of the air but must immediately place it or knock it down to the ice. A player shall be assessed a minor penalty for “closing his hand on the puck”:
(i) If he catches it and skates with it, either to avoid a check or to gain a territorial advantage over his opponent;
(ii) If he places his hand over the puck while it is on the ice in order to conceal it from or prevent an opponent from playing the puck;
NOTE: When this is done in his team’s goal crease area, a penalty shot shall be assessed (67.4) or a goal awarded (67.5).
(The awarded goal is in a situation where the goalie has been pulled for an extra attacker, and a penalty shot would therefore automatically succeed.)
Josi neither skated with the puck nor covered the puck with his hand while it was on the ice, so the question remains simply whether he held it–and it seems like he got rid of it as quickly as possible, instead of holding on to it.