So far in the 2025-26 NHL season, there have been five goals reviewed for a potential hand pass. Four have come in the past week.

Coaches haven’t minced words on the bench or after the game, both about the calls themselves and a perceived lack of consistency from game to game. “I don’t think anybody in the league knows, anymore, where it comes from,” Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after a hand-pass call waved off a goal against the Edmonton Oilers.

The NHL’s position is that the rash of calls is an odd trend but not yet something in need of immediate attention. On Tuesday, at the conclusion of the Board of Governors meeting in Colorado Springs, league commissioner Gary Bettman was asked whether these plays needed to be looked at or addressed.

“No,” he said. “1,312 games (per season), how many thousands of calls and non-calls? Two situations, as you called them, does not a situation make. We’ll look at it long-term and, if necessary, we’ll review it with the general managers in March.”

Two more hand-pass reviews have occurred since that statement.

Here’s a rundown of the four incidents and what coaches had to say.

Dec. 4: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

With Tampa Bay’s net empty, the Penguins’ Erik Karlsson rimmed the puck from his defensive zone. The pass hit Lightning forward Brandon Hagel’s hand as he stood along the boards, and the Lightning retained possession. Twelve seconds later, Nikita Kucherov ripped what would’ve been the game-tying goal into the Penguins net.

The Lightning tied the game LATE in the 3rd period but the goal was OVERTURNED after a league-initiated review for a hand-pass from Brandon Hagel 😵‍💫 pic.twitter.com/WQLZN6WtE7

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 5, 2025

Lightning coach Jon Cooper called the decision to overturn the call “laughable.”

“You could really debate whether an advantage was gained. Did Brandon Hagel direct that puck knowing exactly where it was going? No. Would you sit here today and say Brandon Hagel was maybe protecting his face from a puck hitting it, or protecting some part of his body? If I threw this microphone at you right now, would you put your hand up to stop it? Hell yeah, you would,” he said. “And he didn’t direct any pucks. That was a bang-bang play. There were tons of guys around. It turned out we got it first. A lot of play, a lot of the game developed after that, and the puck went in the net.”

Dec. 6: Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Midway through the second period, Panthers forward Brad Marchand appeared to try to catch a puck behind the Blue Jackets net. Instead, the puck hit his glove and went back onto the ice. Seth Jones scored from the point shortly after.

This was deemed not a hand pass on the Panthers second goal. Lightning fans would’ve liked these refs a couple nights ago. pic.twitter.com/CQM6bTsgap

— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 6, 2025

Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason challenged but lost, much to his chagrin — both on the bench and in his postgame press conference.

“It’s a joke,” he said. “An absolute joke.”

Dec. 9: Edmonton Oilers vs. Buffalo Sabres

Midway through the second period, Rasmus Dahlin put a puck on net. The rebound went off Stuart Skinner and hit Alex Tuch’s glove as he stood in front of the net. Tage Thompson then grabbed the loose puck and scored.

Tage Thompson goal wiped out for a missed stoppage in play. They didnt say what though #LetsGoBuffalo #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/7v1TvQPW6a

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) December 10, 2025

“I thought the glove pass, I don’t know where that came from either,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. “I don’t think anybody in the league knows, anymore, where it comes from.”

“There’s no explanation,” Ruff said after the game. “I mean, I’ve watched every hand pass, from the Marchand one to the ones that are called hand passes. There are two hands on his stick. I don’t even think he sees the puck. There’s no hand off the stick. I don’t know how they come up with hand pass. It boggles me. Somebody had to explain it to me. How that one is, and the one in Florida I watched isn’t — no explanation.”

Dec. 10: Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers

Midway through the second period, Blackhawks forward Colton Dach, having just fallen to the ice behind the net, stopped a loose puck with his hand while sitting on the ice. He moved his stick to try to play it, but teammate Ilya Mikheyev grabbed possession first. He fed it to Ryan Donato in the slot, and the forward beat Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin with a shot.

Shesterkin immediately signaled to the referee that he thought there should have been a stoppage, and Rangers coach Mike Sullivan challenged. The referees didn’t need long to review: They ruled the play should’ve been whistled dead. The Chicago crowd met their announcement with boos.

The Blackhawks have their 2nd goal overturned after a challenge for a hand pass on Colton Dach pic.twitter.com/Lwzitz3kim

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 11, 2025

“That one was probably pretty easy based on the way the rule is,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. “As soon as I saw it, I was hoping as Dach was trying to touch it … he touched it. But I knew that was going to be called back.”

Sullivan agreed: “I thought that one was pretty clear-cut, but given the circumstances around the league there’s a little ambiguity there.”