There will be plenty of attention to the term “slew-footing” prior to Monday night’s Game 7 showdown between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. The Capitals accused Rangers forward Derek Dorsett of attempting the dirty move on defenseman Mike Green late in the third period of New York’s 1-0 win over Washington Sunday. Dorsett wasn’t called for a penalty, but Green’s retaliatory cross check left the Caps short-handed for several key minutes.

Via CSNWashington:

“It’s a dirty slew foot and we’re short-handed from it. That’s the only one I think any of us have a problem with.” Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner and head coach Adam Oates agreed, calling Dorsett’s slew foot a “very dangerous” play. “You don’t want to complain but that play to me is one that concerns me,” Oates said, “because Mike got slew-footed to me and that’s why Mike reacted.”

For casual hockey fans, there may be some confusion as to what a slew foot is and whether Dorsett’s move (as shown above) was an actual act of slew-footing. Here’s how the NHL rule book defines the illegal move.

Rule 52 – Slew-footing 52.1 Slew-footing – Slew-footing is the act of a player or goalkeeper using his leg or foot to knock or kick an opponent’s feet from under him, or pushes an opponent’s upper body backward with an arm or elbow, and at the same time with a forward motion of his leg, knocks or kicks the opponent’s feet from under him, causing him to fall violently to the ice. 52.2 Match Penalty – Any player who is guilty of slew-footing shall be assessed a match penalty. 52.3 Fines and Suspensions – There are no specified fines or suspensions for slew-footing, however, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule 28).

It’s hard to argue that Dorsett should have been penalized for his move, since it ended up being completely ineffective and he actually ended up doing more damage to himself. Even if his intent to slew foot or trip Green was there, which isn’t fully obvious, the rule book states clearly that the act causes the opposing player to fall violently to the ice.

Take for instance this tripping penalty on Calgary’s Mark Giordano for slew-footing Dallas’ Antoine Roussel in February. Giordano was fined $10,000 for the play.

Compared to that, Dorsett’s move didn’t seem very egregious, especially in the waning moments of a playoff elimination game.