04/24/26 11:25:00
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04/24 11:23 CDT The NHL playoffs are nearing a record for penalty shots and
it's still the first round
The NHL playoffs are nearing a record for penalty shots and it's still the
first round
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
No game in the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs has ever ended with a goal on a
penalty shot in overtime and Carolina's Jordan Martinook was not eager to make
history.
He and the Hurricanes thought they'd won Game 2 of their first-round series
against Ottawa when teammate Mark Jankowski scored, but a league-initiated
challenge ruled the play to be offside, took the goal off the board and rewound
the clock. The very next shift, Martinook was hooked by Senators forward Warren
Foegele on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot.
"I was trying to tell (the referee) we needed the power play, not the penalty
shot," Martinook said. He got turned aside by Linus Ullmark, then scored the
winner in double overtime.
Through Thursday night's games, there have been four penalty shots already in
these playoffs --- more through 21 games than the previous three years' worth
combined, including zero in 2025 --- and the goaltenders have saved all four.
Two more penalty shots would tie the record for the most in a single
postseason. There doesn't seem to be a reason for the uptick in refs calling
for penalty shots over power plays, but there is no doubt it has added rare and
must-see entertainment to a compelling first round.
"Everything's very circumstantial," Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon said after denying
Boston's Viktor Arvidsson in Game 3 on Thursday night. He's not sure if he'd
rather face the 1-on-1 matchup or endure a 2-minute penalty kill.
"To be honest with you, every player in this league has the ability to score on
penalty shots," Lyon said. "So yeah, I guess it's just more circumstantial, but
I don't really have a definitive answer one way or the other."
Lyon stopped Arvidsson, Ullmark stopped Martinook, Philadelphia's Owen Tippett
missed the net against Pittsburgh's Stuart Skinner, and Colorado's Scott
Wedgewood made such a highlight-reel save on Los Angeles' Quinton Byfield that
jubilant fans in Denver broke the glass behind the Kings' bench.
"Never really seen the glass shatter behind the bench," Avalanche coach Jared
Bednar said following a repair process that delayed the game more than 15
minutes. "That's a different one. Stuff happens. Fans get excited. Our guys
were excited."
Is more grabbing going on during play? More breakaways in a league that has
increased the emphasis on offense in recent years? Both could be true.
The NHL's rule 24.1 says "a penalty shot is designed to restore a scoring
opportunity which was lost as a result of an infraction being committed by the
offending team, based on the parameters set out in these rules." That does
provide some latitude for officials to determine what constitutes a penalty
shot if a player is unimpeded by an opponent with no one between him and the
net.
Still, four penalty shots before the end of the first round is unusual. The
only playoffs with more penalty shots 2019 (five) and 2008 (six).
These are potentially game-changing moments and add even more pressure to a
playoff game. Martinook described his experience as being the big guy on one
end of a teeter-totter, acknowledging he didn't feel good about himself after
not scoring on his opportunity. The 33-year-old grinder made good on his next
one to keep from being perceived as the goat.
"It was going to be a long night if that penalty shot came back to bite me,"
Martinook said. "Hockey's crazy, sports are crazy and being able to score after
that, I'll tell my grandkids about that one, that's for sure."
___
AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston; Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina
and Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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