Video evidence of the controversial missed too many men play that led to the winning goal

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C. Ritchie
June 23, 2022 (7:59)

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Nazem Kadri ended last night's game in overtime. The goal happened in his first game back from thumb surgery. The injury happened in Game 3 against the Oilers, and kept him out of the lineup for 18 days. Unfortunately for the Lightning it appears Kadri didn't miss a step.

Kadri scored approximately 13 minutes into overtime to send the Avalanche home happy. The only problem is it appears the Avalanche had too many men on the ice at the time.

While the photo shows MacKinnon making his way to the bench many have referenced the following rule:

Rule 74- Too Many Men on the lce 74.1 Too Many Men on the lce- Players may be changed at any time during the play from the players' bench provided that the player or players leaving the ice shall be within five feet (5) of his players' bench and out of the play before the change is made. Refer also to Rule 71- Premature Substitution. At the discretion of the on-ice officials, should a substituting player come onto the ice before his teammate is within the five foot (5') limit of the players' bench (and therefore clearly causing his team to have too many players on the ice), then a bench minor penalty may be assessed.

While photos show MacKinnon near the bench, this video is far more damning.

This is a heartbreaking loss for the Tamp Bay Lightning as they now have to win 3 games in a row against a dominant Colorado Avalanche team. If Jon Cooper doesn't rally his team by Friday night, we may see the Stanley Cup awarded then.