Quote:
Originally Posted by cannon7
Not sure what you're talking about? I said at best it should have been a minor penalty. If you only watch the slow motion replay it might seem like an eternity, but in real time Guentzel had just made a pass. In fact he was caught watching his pass. A clean shoulder-to-shoulder open ice hit on someone who was the puck carrier less than a second before does not a major, fine or suspension make. Unless the NHL wants to revise the rulebook.
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This is all in the rules. The rules define puck carrier and puck possession. Another player is already in possession of the puck (and more than 15 feet away from Guentzel) before Tkachuk makes his hit. That means Guentzel is not the puck carrier and he is not the player in possession of the puck.
Also, interference clearly calls out body positioning. "Moving laterally and without establishing body position, then making contact with the non-puck carrier is not permitted and will be penalized as interference". Tkachuk had to turn and skate into Guentzel and he did so when someone else had the puck.
I think the rules would also allow a charging penalty on Tkachuk based on the distance he traveled to make the hit.