Neues » Friday and missed his scheduled

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 We all saw Toronto Maple Leaf Daniel Winnik lying on the ice after the hit from Jan Hejda in last nights game and hoped that he is alright, but a question also popped into my head as he left on the stretcher. While Im not sure many people thought the hit was dirty, I would imagine the temperature of a game can go up when one of the players takes a devastating hit and has to be helped off the ice by medical professionals, even if the player from the other team didnt break any rules. My question is, what role would a referee play in that situation to make sure a player does not seek retribution or turn a situation even more ugly after a hit, that while causing an injury, was clean and legal? Was there ever a game you were in where you saw a clean hit happen but thought you better say or do something before someone tries to seek revenge and really escalates a situation? Thanks, Tom Ray - London, Ontario Tom: I too wish Daniel Winnik a full and speedy recovery from the nasty fall he suffered in the Leafs-Avalanche game last night. The clean check delivered by Jan Hejda is one more example of the need for players to be more aware of their surroundings and expect to be hit. Hejda was in the act of initiating a check as Winnik chipped the puck past him and into the Avalanche end zone. The close quarters, straight up contact delivered by Hejda was within an acceptable time frame to avoid an interference infraction. Winniks awkward tumble on his head highlighted the philosophy shared by Oilers assistant coach, Craig Ramsay, which I wrote about in yesterdays column; players dont expect to be hit and as such are often caught off guard and unprepared to take a hit. Without question, Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets deserved his recent three game suspension for a late, careless head hit on Juri Tlusty of the Carolina Hurricanes. Tlusty, however, appeared totally unaware of the potential that he could/would be hit after dishing the puck off to his right. Tlusty proceeded to watch his pass for an extended portion of time and was caught with a head-rocking illegal check that he had no idea was coming. Lets hope players alter this destructive trend by placing their head on a swivel to defend against impending body contact; legal or otherwise. Witnessing a player carried off the ice on a stretcher due to serious injury can be a frightening experience for everyone in attendance. Depending upon the circumstance and degree of injury, there is often an immediate hostile response from the injured players teammates as they seek retribution. The officials must immediately impose themselves in this combustible situation in an effort to bring the temperature down and before a spark ignites a raging fire. If that is not possible, a strict penalty standard must be enacted if retaliation and retribution continue throughout the game. Ideally, if the fire is put out immediately, anger and hostility can quickly shift to concern for the injured player. I will share a devastating hit and resulting injury I witnessed from close range that created an overwhelming look of shock on the faces of players from both teams. I was overcome with a sick feeling in my stomach. Midway through the first period of Game 7 of the 1999-00 Eastern Conference Final between the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers, Eric Lindros picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and proceeded toward the Devils blue line with a lowered body posture and his head down; as was too often the case. Lindros avoided a stick-check from Scott Niedermayer by drawing the puck back before entering the zone and thereby created an offside at the blue line. Scott Stevens was already in motion cutting through the gap to deliver one of his patented devastating shoulder checks as he had done so often throughout his career and in the series. This time, Stevens had his sights clearly set on the Big E. Watch Stevens hit on Lindros The linesmans whistle blew for the offside a fraction of a second after Stevens buried his shoulder cap into Erics jaw with devastating force. Lindros neck whipped like a wet noodle, his body rotated in the air and crashed hard to the ice causing the back of Erics helmet to impact the ice with an audible thud. The Big E lay motionless on his side in the fetal position for what seemed like a breathless lifetime. Flyers medical personnel jumped over the boards as quickly as the cavalry garbed in white, orange and black on the ice mounted an attack against Stevens. We (the officials) were quick to intervene and usher Stevens to his players bench out of harms way. As Lindros was being attended to on the ice, I saw the look of shock and concern on the faces of the Flyer players and coaching staff. Seeing Eric in the fetal position is when I developed a sickness in my stomach. I recall having the conscious thought of an infant that was unable to care for itself and being fed baby food by its parent/caregiver. Would this tragic thought become the ultimate fate of this great hockey player? I prayed not. There was some relief when Eric was lifted up off the ice even although his legs moved like rubber as he was assisted to the dressing room. I fixed my gaze on the Devils bench area and what amazed me most was the look of fear on the face of Scott Stevens; an emotion that I had never witnessed before from Captain Crunch. This guy was fearless and he had levied more bone-crushing, devastating checks than any player before him. I had seen him kiss his bicep and warn players on the opposing bench that they were next after knocking one of their teammates senseless. This time there was something much different that I perceived from the Devils leader. Scotts face appeared drawn and white as a sheet. I detected a nervous twitch. I firmly believe that he felt he had gone too far this time with a player that had a long and well-documented history of concussions. To this day I believe the fear I detected from Scott Stevens was for the future well-being of his opponent. Had he gone too far? You be the judge on that. Stitched Celtics Jerseys . -- Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings will be on the sideline as the Packers make their push for a perfect regular season. Celtics Jerseys China . Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares. https://www.cheapceltics.com/. The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. Celtics Jerseys 2020 . 98 jersey in a game yet, and already its a big seller. Fake Celtics Jerseys .com) - Demario Richard posted four touchdowns and Kweishi Brown came up with a key late interception as No. UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders were close to ending their five-game losing streak. But Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals found a win to get their second win in two days. Ovechkins overtime winner came after Nicklas Backstrom tied the game with a short-handed score with 49 seconds left in the third period to lift the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Islanders on Saturday. Ovechkins 21st goal at 2:07 of overtime gave Washington the victory and improved its record to 14-11-2. The Capitals also had a strong game from goaltender Braden Holtby, who made 37 saves. "We were lucky at the end and then we got it done in overtime," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "At the end of the day, you want to do the right things out there and we did." The Islanders seemed poised for their first win since Nov. 16 after Thomas Vanek gave them a 2-1 lead with just under two minutes left. Vanek scored his eighth of the season when he flipped the puck past Holtby from in close at 18:09 as linemates John Tavares and Kyle Okposo assisted. The one-goal lead appeared safe but it wasnt to be as Capitals defenceman Mike Green took an interference penalty at 18:50. The ensuing play went into the Islanders end where Backstrom took a pass from Jason Chimera, then managed to slide the puck past Islanders goaltender Anders Nilsson for his sixth of the season to knot the score at 2. "It was a great pass by Chimmer that landed on my tape," Backstrom said. "It really felt great for me because it was a tight game between two good teams. It was felt good that we came back, a great win for us." Nilsson was making his first start for the Islanders this season after Kevin Poulin had lost the previous five games. Starter Evgeni Nabokov was injured early in the Nov. 16th game against Detroit. The Islanders won that game in a shootout with Poulin in relief but they havent won since. Aaron Volpattis score at 8:58 of the middle period put Washington ahead 1-0. Tom Wilson and Martin Erat assisted on his second goal of the season. The Islanders dictated much of the pace against the Capitals. They outshot Washington 15-9 in the first period and 12-10 in the second, a day after a 5-0 home losss to Detroit.dddddddddddd Cal Clutterbucks short-handed breakaway goal at 3:59 of the third woke up the crowd at Nassau Coliseum. Clutterbuck broke in alone on Holtby and beat the goaltender to the glove side for his third of the season. Both goaltenders continued their sharp play until Vaneks goal broke the tie. The Islanders have been on a spiral since beating Boston at home on Nov. 2 to improve to 6-5-3. They are 2-10-1 since and 4-11-1 since they traded Tavares left wing Matt Moulson and two draft picks to Buffalo for Vanek on Oct. 27. Islanders coach Jack Capuano remained upbeat following the loss. "Guys worked hard tonight. I thought they were focused and this was a step in the right direction," he said. "It came down to special teams. Its just very frustrating that it had to end this way." The Islanders and Capitals play close games, as 17 of the past 25 games between them have been decided by one goal. Washington is 13-1-3 in those games. The Caps are 17-5-3 against the Islanders since the start of the 2007-08 season, including their 6-2 over New York on Nov. 5 at Verizon Center. The Islanders next host Pittsburgh on Tuesday before a five-game trip against top Western Conference teams St. Louis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose and Phoenix. For a club that reached the playoffs last season for the first time since 2007, the season is at an early crossroads. "We have to believe in one another and stick with it," Capuano said. Calvin de Haan made his season debut for the Islanders. The 22-year-old defenceman was recalled from AHL Bridgeport on Thanksgiving. A first round pick -- 12th overall -- in 2009, he previously had played only one game for the Islanders in December 2011. Notes: The Capitals recalled goaltender Philipp Grubauer from AHL Hershey to replace backup Michal Neuvirth, who stepped on puck during warmup on Friday and missed his scheduled start. ... Washington also recalled defenceman Dmitry Orlov from Hershey, sending down centre Michael Latta. ... The Capitals were without defencemen John Erskine (knee) and Jack Hillen (fractured tibia). ... The Islanders continued to be without defencemen Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) and Brian Strait (upper body). ' ' '