Following the NHL lockout, when the league instituted a plethora of new rules, many of them were intended to speed up the flow of the game. One involved instituting a certain time frame between a whistle and when the puck must be dropped on the ensuing faceoff. If you’re not there in time, well... tough luck. The puck drops anyway.
VIDEO: Penguins’ Joe Vitale Shows Up Late For Faceoff
Now, I haven’t watched every single game since the lockout, but as far as I know, this has never actually happened. It’s quite possible it has, but I haven’t seen it. Until Tuesday night.
If you missed it, run back to the very start of the video. It’s quick.
Joe Vitale missed the draw and the Penguins had to scramble to get back in time. They actually did a pretty solid job of recovering down in their own end, but still looked a bit discombobulated and confused. The Panthers capitalized as Tomas Fleischmann threw the rebound into the back of the net.
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