Bizarre penalty: Devils' Tootoo flips over boards

Late in the first period of their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, the New Jersey Devils were whistled for a too many men on the ice penalty. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, right? Happens at least once a night somewhere in the NHL because of a bad line change, a miscommunication between teammates, or some other random mistake.

What stands about this one is that it was called because Devils forward Jordin Tootoo went for a hit, missed it, and then flipped himself over the boards into the empty space between the two benches. While he’s standing there, one of his teammates jumped on the ice. So even though he wasn’t technically on the ice himself, he also wasn’t on the bench which was apparently enough for the refs to call the too many men penalty.

The best part of this, other than the flip by Tootoo, is the reaction of Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist as he attempts to get the attention of a referee to point out the fact that Tootoo is not where he should be.

Alright, see ya later Jordin. https://t.co/d15iHPdJoE

— NHL (@NHL) December 12, 2015

We’ve seen players in the past jump into that box in an effort to avoid too many men penalties and they usually get away with it.

The Devils weren’t that lucky on Friday.

Jordin Tootoo flipped over the boards. (NHL/MSG)

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