Delay-of-Game Penalties Play Role in Rangers' Loss WASHINGTON - Delay-of-game penalties loomed large for the Rangers in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday. There was the one that Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh took 7 minutes 9 seconds into overtime, which led to Mike Green's game-winning, power-play goal. McDonagh was at the end of a three-minute shift when he shot the puck over the glass, and although he said fatigue was not a factor in his gaffe, he was clearly winded as he went to the penalty box. There was also Capitals defenseman Steve Olesky's delay-of-game penalty, shortly before McDonagh's, at 1:51 of overtime, which the Rangers failed to capitalize on. And then there was Washington defenseman Karl Alzner, who could have been called for a delay-of-game penalty with 46 seconds left in regulation but was not. A penalty would have given the Rangers a power play at the end of regulation and into the start of overtime. On that play, the puck went over the glass as Alzner swung his stick along the ice. After a long conference, the referees Eric Furlatt and Francois St. Laurent and the linesmen Darren Gibbs and Pierre Racicot ruled that it was a deflection and was therefore not a penalty under Rule 63.2. The relevant portion of that rule reads, "When any player, while in his defending zone, shoots or bats (using his hand or his stick) the puck directly (nondeflected) out of the playing surface, except where there is no glass, a penalty shall be assessed for delaying the game." The key term there is the parenthetical "nondeflected." After the game, Alzner said the officials informed him he was off the hook because the puck was tipped out rather than shot or batted out. Alzner said he had a premonition that this might happen. "It's actually weird," he said. I was thinking about that last night. I was thinking, if that play ever happened, what would the call be? And I guess it's discretionary, whatever they decide. So I was happy they decided that. Alzner said he felt a certain sympathy for McDonagh. "Yeah, I mean, that's a tough play for D-men, especially," he said. A lot of times you're just trying to get the puck out, you're tired, and it's funny how it happens. Did Alzner like the rule? He smiled. "I could do without it because I used to always flip the puck over the boards and glass," he said. I think I've been called on that a few times in my career. So, I mean, it is what it is - you've just got to pay attention, I guess. Shortly after making the call on the ice, an official skated over to Rangers Coach John Tortorella to explain. Before the official could say anything, Tortorella emphatically told him to go away. After the game, Tortorella was still in no mood for conversation. But he did not complain about the call. "It's a rule," Tortorella said, and he left it at that.