The NHL is introducing a much needed new rule soon, and it appears it would have helped the Edmonton Oilers in a big way on Tuesday.
The NHL have been proactive in bringing in some new rules as of late, and now, a new rule is coming into effect that may see the Edmonton Oilers be the last team penalized for this move. On Tuesday, they would defeat the Winnipeg Jets in overtime on the back of a Zach Hyman winner, but there was an even more notable event that happened during this game.
With the game tied and under three minutes to go, Dylan Demelo accidentally high sticked teammate Adam Lowry in the face, but because he was near, it was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that faced the penalty that could have cost the Oilers the game.
Main takeaway: The importance of NHL video coaches will be going up with puck-over-the-glass and "friendly fire" high-sticking penalties now able to be challenged. Teams who get one of those wrong will find themselves killing a 5-on-3 penalty once these changes are implemented.
Fortunately for the Oilers, this one wouldn't cost them on the back of the Hyman overtime winner, but in the future, this could prove very costly for a team, so the NHL coming in with this rule was a fantastic choice.