<P> In ice hockey, a play is offside if a player on the attacking team crosses the offensive blue line entering the offensive zone before the puck, and anyone on that player's team touches the puck before it leaves the offensive zone, also known as the red zone . A play is not considered offside if the puck is sent or carried there by a defending player, or if the defending team's goalie covers the puck . When an offside violation occurs, a linesman will stop play . A faceoff is then held at a neutral ice spot closest to the infraction to restart play . In the event the puck carrier's feet cross the blue line while the puck remains outside the blue line, the attacking team's players can enter the zone and be considered onside . </P> <P> The National Hockey League (NHL) and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) apply similar rules for determining offside . A player is judged to be offside if both of their skates completely cross the blue line dividing their offensive zone from the neutral zone before the puck completely crosses the same line . In both organizations, it is the position of a player's skates that are important . They cannot use their stick or other part of their body to remain onside . The lone caveat to this rule is that an attacking player's skates may precede the puck into the attacking zone when they are skating backwards if they are in control of the puck . </P>

When did the nhl take out the red line