As the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators prepared for Game 6 of their first-round series, an official caught a critical error that would have sidelined the Toronto star for the pivotal matchup.
Nylander, who turned 29 on Thursday, was mistakenly listed as his brother Alex Nylander with his No. 92 on the Official Game Report.
Luckily for Toronto, an official caught the error and William Nylander was eligible to play, falling under Rule 5.1 in the NHL rulebook.
The rule states: “Prior to the game, if an official (on-ice or off-ice) notices that a player is in uniform but has not been included on the Official Game Report, the Referee shall bring this to the attention of the offending team so that the necessary correction can be made to the Official Game Report with no penalty assessed.”
If the error had gone unnoticed before puck drop, Nylander would have been pulled off the ice and Toronto unable to replace him in the lineup, according to Rule 5.2.
Under Rule 5.2, the team is not assessed an additional penalty, differing from a mistake with the starting lineup under Rule 7.2.
On Nov. 21, 2024, the Nashville Predators received a minor penalty after Filip Forsberg took the opening faceoff despite Steven Stamkos being listed on the game sheet.
It was a major bullet dodged for the Maple Leafs as Nylander was in the lineup. Not only that, but the birthday boy recorded an assist on the game’s opening goal and scored one of his own 43 seconds into the second period.
