I saw this on Prime Time Sports last week when Colin Campbell was on. He said that this situation had never really come up in among the GMs or the Rules committee, and that he had no idea how it would be decided if it ever came up during a game. What would happen if a team took three overlapping minors in an overtime game?
For arguments sake, let's say that with less than 4 minutes left in overtime, a team gets a minor penalty. Before that first minor expires, they get hit with another one. The rules state that if a team takes overlapping penalties in overtime, the team with the powerplay plays 5-on-3 until the first penalty expires, then plays 5-on-4 until the second penalty expires or until a stoppage in play. But what would happen if the shorthanded team took another penalty, such as too many men on the ice, or shooting the puck directly out of play. Both of these penalties are automatic, so the referees cannot just turn a blind eye to them.
In regulation time, the penalized player would just go to the penalty box and the penalty time would not start until after the first penalty was served or a goal scored. But if there's less than 4 minutes left to play, then the game could be over before the penalty could be served. So how should it be enforced. The suggestion was made that a penalty shot should be awarded immediately.
It could happen. But the league hasn't officially said, "Here's how we'll handle it." Has anyone else even considered that this may happen, and how could it be handled?