In the 24th minute of Tuesday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference final series between Dynamo Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg, Dynamo defenseman Dominik Granak lost possession and created a goal-scoring opportunity close to his own net. Granak then fouled the advancing forward and was handed a standard two-minute penalty for tripping. After the game, SKA head coach Milos Riha stated that the foul merited a penalty shot for his team.
The KHL Refereeing Department has reviewed the episode and upheld the original decision. The referee was technically correct in not awarding a penalty shot because at the moment of being fouled the attacker did not have full possession and control of the puck.
What the rules say
KHL rule 508 a) states that four criteria must be met for the award of a Penalty Shot for a player being fouled from behind:
1. The infraction must take place when the puck is outside of the non-offending player's defending zone (i.e. completely across the blue line).
2. The infraction must have been committed from behind.
3. The attacking player, having possession and control of the puck, at the moment of being fouled has no opposing players to beat (apart from the goaltender) in order to score.
4. The attacking player, having possession and control of the puck, in the opinion of the referee must have been denied a reasonable scoring opportunity.
