Obscure NHL Rule Took Even Players by Surprise

The Minnesota Wild won in overtime Sunday, but it's how they won that is generating some attention. Coach John Hynes pulled his goalie with the game at 3-3 in overtime, and the Wild then scored against Nashville with the extra offensive attacker. But as the Minneapolis Star Tribune explains, many of the team's own players weren't aware of the risk Hynes was taking under an obscure NHL rule: Had Nashville scored into Minnesota's empty net, the Wild would have forfeited the point they had earned for being tied at the end of regulation.

"No, I did not know that," said the Wild's Matt Boldy, who scored the game-winner, per the Athletic. Veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, whose departure from the ice led to Boldy's goal, also was in the dark. The stakes were huge: Minnesota is desperate for points in the playoffs race, and that extra point allowed them to jump ahead of three teams fighting for the final wildcard spot. Of course, losing the assured point would have caused much second-guessing against Hynes. "We're here to win right?" he asked reporters after the game. Watch the goal here. (More NHL stories.)