I believe the rule is if anyone throws a stick to save a goal it automatically counts. So if a player was on a break and shot it on an empty net and an opposing player threw his stick to stop it -> auto goal. They mentioned it during a game once.
I know that there's a rule if you take a penalty on a player while they're attempting to score on an empty net, it's automatically awarded.
Is there a limit on how close the puck is to the net? If somebody on Calgary threw their stick while the puck was at the blue line, or in the neutral zone, would it still be awarded?
I just wonder because seemingly nobody accounted for a goalie automatically knocking their net off the goal on a 3 on 0 before this year.