I did a quick skim of NHL rules and this looks like textbook interference. you are not allowed to move latterally to block a player without an attempt to establish forward movement, what they refer to as body position. also by definition, the german player in question does not have possession of the puck as he was not the last to touch it.
I think this was a weak call. The only reason they could have made this call is because the referees perceived Zellweger to have set a pick, moving laterally without establishing body position. But the rules clearly state that "a player who is aware of an impending hit, not deemed to be in a legal 'battle for the puck,' may not be interfered with by a player or goalkeeper delivering a 'pick'" (Rule 56.1) which seems to imply that if the player being hit (who is aware of the impending contact…as is the case here) is involved in a legal "battle for the puck," contact is allowed. And as far as the NHL standard goes (i.e. the rule as we see it applied every day in the NHL), when 2 players are in the same space trying to get the puck, it's considered a battle for the puck – that's exactly what happened here. So I say play on, no penalty. However…the refs get to see this once, at full speed. So I understand why the penalty was called.
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More like embellishment 😆
I did a quick skim of NHL rules and this looks like textbook interference. you are not allowed to move latterally to block a player without an attempt to establish forward movement, what they refer to as body position. also by definition, the german player in question does not have possession of the puck as he was not the last to touch it.
I think this was a weak call. The only reason they could have made this call is because the referees perceived Zellweger to have set a pick, moving laterally without establishing body position. But the rules clearly state that "a player who is aware of an impending hit, not deemed to be in a legal 'battle for the puck,' may not be interfered with by a player or goalkeeper delivering a 'pick'" (Rule 56.1) which seems to imply that if the player being hit (who is aware of the impending contact…as is the case here) is involved in a legal "battle for the puck," contact is allowed. And as far as the NHL standard goes (i.e. the rule as we see it applied every day in the NHL), when 2 players are in the same space trying to get the puck, it's considered a battle for the puck – that's exactly what happened here. So I say play on, no penalty. However…the refs get to see this once, at full speed. So I understand why the penalty was called.
This is a clear interference, like what do you mean?