Chicago Blackhawks' Strange Score: What the Puck Is Going On?

Listen up, boys and girls, to the mystery of the phantom goal. Wednesday night in Chicago, the Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp scored a goal in the third period without the puck ever crossing the goal line.  How is that possible, you ask? Well, it seems there is a little known new rule this season.  It states that if a player is skating toward an open net (the Ducks had pulled their goalie late in the period, with the Hawks ahead 2-0) and is within scoring range when taken down by the opponent, the player taken down is awarded a goal. The old rule stated that the goalie would have to come back out on the ice to face a penalty shot.  The only problem with this rule is that no one bothered to remove the old rule from the rulebook.   Thus, it is now up to the referee to decide to award a goal—as was done in Wednesday's game—or give a penalty shot. And let's face it, the new rule makes sense. If you're on a break away with an open net, why would it then be fair to ... (link)