Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, Whats the standard for officiating on hits and shoves after the whistle? Andrei Markov laid a late hit on Ondrej Palat after the whistle in last nights Habs-Lightning game, while Radko Gudas was giving extra pushes and shoves after play was stopped as well! How much is too much? Carrie ---- Hi Kerry, I appreciate your candor in your columns. With the playoffs upon us I am going to put you on the spot. Does the league mandate that officials loosen the reins on the rules come playoffs? I have played, coached and been a fan of the game for many years and it would appear there is a different standard (I use Brad Marchand repeatedly punching one of the Sedins after a whistle with no call in the 2011 Stanley Cup final as Exhibit A). As a fan I hate the relaxed standard that is apparent in the playoffs. Andy,Toronto Hi Carrie and Andy: And so the games begin! We all know that game intensity is quickly ramped up in the playoffs. At ice level, a referee must be able to feel the energy that players exude from the opening puck drop and allow the game to unfold. Each game has a unique heartbeat and the officials need to constantly take the pulse into account and determine when it is appropriate to impose themselves. Im not talking about when to call a trip or other obvious infraction but more specifically how to regulate the temperature of a game. The refs need to tap into and differentiate between the positive energy (which they must allow to flourish) and any excessive negative energy (which they must take measures to control). Quite often there is a fine line between the two once we enter the high stakes of playoff competition. One incident can spike the game temp, such as the deliberate snow shower that Ryan Garbutt buried Ducks goalie Frederik Anderson with, or the late body check from Andrei Markov on Ondrej Palat. On the first play, the referee took immediate control by assessing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Garbutt, thereby sending a clear message that any "cheap" liberties on the goalkeeper would not be tolerated. I asked Marty Biron, whom I sat beside in the TSN studio last night, if a snow shower throws a goalie off his game. Marty said it actually does the opposite and will motivate the goalie to remain focused and play harder. Adding insult to injury, Matt Beleskey scored the fourth Ducks goal with Garbutt in the box. That became a costly penalty once Dallas closed the gap and Anaheim hung on for the 4-3 win. There was less need for the refs to exert control on the late Markov check. It was a clean shoulder check (other than after the whistle), it was in open ice as opposed to into the boards (in which case I am quite sure a penalty would have resulted) and even though it resulted in a scrum, the benefit of the doubt could be offered that Markov was in the act of finishing a check and the whistle was a little late. If after this "freebee" extended by the refs there was another episode of a testosterone rush someone should pay the price of a penalty call. Andy, there is no specific direction or league mandate given to the officials to loosen the reins on the rules. They are instructed to utilize their "best judgment" to ensure that marginal penalties are avoided at all times. This suggestion can plant a seed in the mind of the officials that isnt always positive. As the game moves closer to the end the refs feel an internal pressure to make sure that if they do raise their arm it will be judged as a "solid" penalty call. They want desperately to keep the spotlight off themselves. That thought process, when taken to excess, can negatively alter the standard that had been set throughout the game. Candidly speaking, a referee might avoid calling a foul that occurs 100 plus feet from the net since it doesnt involve a direct scoring opportunity. At that point he gambles and hopes that continued game flow gets him out of a self-perceived controversy. You and I know this is not the right approach, nor is it in the best interest of the game. Those in charge of rating the officials performance have a hand in this process as well. We have seen situations where a ref has stepped up and made a gutsy (and correct) call that impacts a game only to find himself dropped from further playoff assignments due to the nuclear fallout. Brad Marchand rag dolling Daniel Sedin in the 2011 Cup Final is just one example we could cite with regard to ref avoidance issues. Players will take full advantage when they feel the referee has put his whistle away. On the flip side, I recall Jerome Iginla chasing me around the ice after I whistled Andrew Ference for blasting Martin St. Louis into the end boards with less than two minutes remaining in Game 7 of the 2004 Cup Final with the Lightning leading by a score of 2-1. It was an obvious penalty but the score, time and emotion altered Iginlas perception and acceptance of the call. Then came the first lockout season and the "New NHL" spawned an attitude that penalties would be called regardless of the score and time. The standard has eroded somewhat from that strong initiative and needs to be restored before we move much farther through this playoff season. As I mentioned in a previous column, the referees need to demonstrate sound judgment and courage to make the perceived "tough" call. When the refs do make them they must be supported by the Officiating Department managers. That is the seed that needs to grow. Hugo Lloris Jersey . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter. Harry Kane Jersey . Crawford hit his slam off Pirates starter Edinson Volquez to give San Francisco a four run lead in the fourth and they never looked back. Brandon Belt had three runs batted in as well. Bumgarner pitched all nine innings and allowed just four hits. http://www.footballhotspurstore.com/Women-Paulo-Gazzaniga-Tottenham-Hotspur-Jersey/ . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. Eric Dier Jersey .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. Georges-Kevin NKoudou Jersey .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov.Winnipeg Jets 5 Colorado Avalanche 4 (OT) (Jets 32-30-9, Home 17-14-6) – The game was the final in the five-game season series between the two teams, with every game being decided by one goal, four of them needing extra time. The win moved the Jets to within four points of Phoenix (Coyotes home to Florida Thursday) and two points of ninth-place Dallas (Dallas in Philadelphia Thursday). Jets next play Saturday at home to Carolina (TSN 1290), before heading out of a five-game road trip that starts in Dallas Monday (TSN Jets, TSN 1290). The Jets started the day with news that Dustin Byfuglien would miss the game with a lower-body injury, and in warm-up had Zach Bogosian go down with an upper-body injury, forcing Paul Postma who was to be a healthy scratch to scramble and get dressed in time for the opening period. Despite no warm up Postma recorded his first two points of the season. Eric Tangradi went on the Olli Jokinen-Blake Wheeler line in place of Byfuglien and scored his third of the year. The Avs scored the opening goal 20 seconds in, Ryan OReilly putting one in off the skate of Bryan Little. But 2:55 later that line got the goal back, Andrew Ladd with his 20th from Little and Jacob Trouba. Eric Tangradi put the Jets in front banging home a goal-mouth pass from Wheeler, with Jokinen also drawing an assist. But on a delayed penalty against the Jets, Gabe Landeskog beat Al Montoya off a rebound to send the teams to the dressing rooms tied 2-2. Shots were 12-8 Colorado. Evander Kane with his 16th put the Jets in front, scoring off a great redirect pass from Devin Setoguchi. Postma picked up his first point of the season on the goal. But the Avs again tied the game, with Nick Holden scoring with 31 seconds left in the period. Jets outshot the Avs 11-5 in the second but only managed one past Reto Berra, making his Avalanche debut, but it was the third time this season Berra has faced the Jets, the previous meetings coming when he was with the Calgary Flames. It was much the same in the third, with the Jets getting a power play goal from Ladd to again take the lead. Wheeler and Toby Enstrom drew assists. For Ladd it was his 21st of the seasoon and franchise-leading 67th as a Jet.dddddddddddd For Enstrom it was his 200th NHL assist. But yet again the Avs came back. Cody McLeod with his third of the year on a two-on-one break made it 4-4 and that is the way regulation ended. Shots in the third were 8-7 Avs. So with each team assured a point, it was off to overtime. For the Jets it was the sixth time in the last 12 games they have gone to extra time. Wheeler ended it with his 24th of the year, assists to Postma and Enstrom. Wheeler outwaited Berra and had room after Berra anticipated a pass and left the side of the net open. It was Wheelers second overtime winner this season, both against Colorado. In five games against the Avs Wheeler has gone 5-5-10. He also has a franchise-leading 164 points as a Jet, and is now 1-7-8 in the last four games, 2-13-15 in the last 15 games, 9-19-28 in the last 27 games. Enstrom is now 1-5-6 in his last four games. Final shots were 27 apiece. It was the Jets 39th one-goal game of the season. Jets are 4-4-4 in the last 12. Trouba for the 14th time this season led the Jets in ice time at 24:17, while for the second straight game Ladd led in shots on goal with six. Jokinen and Little each took 23 face-offs, Jokinen winning 12, Little 11. It was a season high in ice time for Tangradi at 17:07, and also for Eric ODell at 15:39. He has been over 15 minutes in each of his last three games. Jets are now 13-7-4 under Paul Maurice with 11 games remaining, four at home. Post-game Maurice talked about not being able to hold the lead. "It didnt feel like that over the course of the game, it wasnt a matter of getting the lead, sit back and let them come. Being able to control yourself mentally with the magnitude of the game, that when one goes in on you being able to bounce back. "You saw it in our captain, who gave up a goal on their first shift and thats their assignment," continued Maurice. "And then the next shift go out and come back and score. That leadership is important on the bench and that tone was set early." Maurice said he expects Bogosian in the lineup Saturday and there is also a chance Byfuglien, Jim Slater and Ondrej Pavelec may be ready for Saturday as well. 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