Major Penalties

20.1 Major Penalty - For the first major penalty in any one game, the offender, except the goalkeeper, shall be ruled off the ice for five (5) minutes during which time no substitute shall be permitted.

When one player receives a major penalty and a minor penalty at the same time, the major penalty shall be served first by the penalized player (or substitute for the goalkeeper), except under Rule 19.2 where coincidental major penalties are in effect, in which case the minor penalty will be recorded and served first.

20.2 Short-handed – Although a major penalty does cause a team to be short-handed, the penalized player serving the major penalty does not leave the penalty bench when the opposing team scores. The player must wait for the entire major penalty to expire before he is permitted to exit the penalty bench.

20.3 Substitution – When a player has been assessed a major penalty and has been removed from the game or is injured, the offending team does not have to place a substitute player on the penalty bench immediately, but must do so at a stoppage of play prior to the expiration of the major penalty. He may then legally exit the penalty bench

when the major penalty has expired. If the player has been assessed minor penalties in addition to the major penalty that must also be served on the penalty time clock, the offending team must place a substitute on the penalty bench immediately.

Failure to place a player on the penalty bench prior to the expiration of the major penalty will result in that team having to continue playing one player short (but not officially considered shorthanded) until the next stoppage of play. Any replacement player who enters the game other than from the penalty bench shall constitute an illegal substitution under Rule 68 – Illegal Substitution calling for a bench minor penalty.

Furthermore, if the team fails to place a player on the penalty bench to return to the ice at the end of the major penalty, they continued to play short-handed but are not permitted to ice the puck as they are no longer short-handed by reason of a penalty.

20.4 Automatic Game Misconduct – An automatic game misconduct shall be applied to any player who has been assessed a third major penalty in the same game. An automatic game misconduct shall also be applicable whenever a player is assessed a major penalty for any of the infractions listed in the Reference Tables – Table 6 –

Summary of Major Penalties that Result in an Automatic Game Misconduct (page 139). See specific rule numbers for complete descriptions. When a player has been assessed a major penalty for any of the infractions listed in the

Reference Tables – Table 7 – Summary of Major Penalties that Result in an Automatic Game Misconduct When There is an Injury to the Face or Head (page 140) and his opponent has suffered an injury to the face or head, a game misconduct must also be assessed. See specific rule numbers for complete descriptions.

When a major and automatic game misconduct are assessed, the player shall be ruled off the ice for the balance of the game, but a substitute shall be permitted to replace the player so suspended after five (5) minutes have elapsed.

20.5 Infractions – Refer to the Reference Tables – Table 5 – Summary of Major Penalties (page 139) for a list of the infractions that can result in a major penalty being assessed (see specific rule numbers for\ complete descriptions).

20.6 On-Ice Video Review of Major Penalties – Referees shall review all plays that result in the assessment of any Major Penalty (other than a Major Penalty for Fighting) for the purpose of confirming (or modifying) their original call on the ice.

Such reviews will be conducted exclusively by the Referee(s) on the ice in consultation with other On-Ice Official(s), as appropriate, using the technology (for example, a handheld tablet or a television or computer monitor) specified in and provided pursuant to Rule 38.5.

Communication between the Situation Room and the On-Ice Officials shall be limited to contact between the appropriate Game Logger in the Situation Room and the Referee to ensure the Referee is receiving any and all video they might request, as well as the appropriate replay angles they may need to review the penalty call. There shall be no other contact or consultation between the On-Ice Official(s) and the NHL Situation Room, or with any other non-game participant.

The Referee shall have the following options after video review of his own call: (i) confirming his original Major Penalty call; (ii) reducing his original Major Penalty call to a lesser penalty; or (iii) rescinding the original Major Penalty altogether.