Paul Gaustad C FA Sun 2/10/13 9:23 AM
Paul Gaustad
C FA
The penalty assessed to Nashville's Paul Gaustad during overtime of Saturday's loss to the Wild has generated a fair bit of controversy.
Gaustad was whistled for a "delay of game - faceoff violation" infraction after the puck inadvertently hit his glove while he was attempting to win a defensive zone face-off and the Wild went on to score the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play. "The interpretation of the rule, I thought, is intentional glove play," Gaustad said. The NHL reportedly stood by its official and reiterated that the correct call was made, but Predators coach Barry Trotz, who sat on the committee that helped develop the rule, disagrees. "To me that was not the intent of a faceoff rule when there's a bad drop bouncing three feet in the air, and he has two hands on his stick," Trotz said. "It's not like he's using his free hand." It was an unfortunate turn of events for the defensive-minded center.