11-23-2015, 02:58 AM
Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Bruce Miller Womens Jersey .ca. Mr. Fraser, In the PIT/NYR Round 2 series, there have been two separate occasions where Marc Staal has taken blatant shots to the head of Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby. In Game 3, Staal hit Crosby with a viscous crosscheck to the back of the head. I was shocked that a penalty wasnt even called on the ice! The league then came out the following day and said that no punishment would be handed down for the hit. The following night, in Game 4, Staal again went after Crosbys head. This time it was a blatant elbow. Again, it was from behind, to the back of the head, nearly knocking the helmet off Crosbys head. Again, there was no call on the ice, and no action taken by the league. Can you explain to me how the league and officials, in this era of "no tolerance" for hits to the head, can allow this kind of thing to go on? How can there be no call on the ice? Obviously, since there was no action for the league, or penalty called, in Game 3, Staal figured he was cleared to do it again in Game 4. I mean, if the NHL doesnt care about the well-being of its marquee players, why should Staal? Thanks for listening. Any light you can shed on this subject would be great! John Waclo John: The cross-check that Marc Staal delivered on Sidney Crosby was well beyond just a minor infraction (Video link) and worthy of at least a five-minute major and game misconduct. This aggressive cross-check delivered to the head area could not be considered an effort by a defensive player to contain, engage in a battle in battle or to clear an opponent from the front of the net. The blow did not start at the name plate on the back of the jersey and then rode up to the neck and back of the helmet. This forceful, full-arm extension cross-check went directly to the back of the neck/head of Crosby and should be considered an attempt to injure and worthy of a match penalty under rule 59.4. For the sake of argument lets reverse the body position of Crosby where he and Staal are face-to-face. If that same force is delivered to the neck and chin of Sid he will most likely be spitting blood, chicklets and perhaps even incur another broken jaw. I would sincerely hope that a match penalty would be assessed in that case and a player would be suspended for cross-checking an opponent in the face! I see a deliberate and forceful cross-check to the back of a players neck and head to be similarly dangerous regardless of the fact it was delivered on a player with a well-documented history of concussions. If you want to see an "old school" hit take a look at the major and game misconduct I assessed to Darian Hatcher in a game in Dallas just prior to the playoffs, when he delivered an elbow to the face of Jeremy Roenick. Roenicks jaw was dislocated, broken in three places and he had eight teeth cracked or broken. Roenick approached me on the ice spitting blood and teeth with his jaw wagging in the breeze as he attempted to say, "He broke my f----n jaw!" Hatcher was suspended for seven games (including the Stars first five playoff games) by Colin Campbell for the illegal hit. See it here. John, you ask how these types of plays can be missed. The answer is there are too many "puck watchers" wearing stripes in these playoffs. Player safety is placed in jeopardy when these aggressive fouls are allowed to go un-penalized. This isnt "old school" officiating; just a lack of awareness. Deion Sanders Youth Jersey . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Reggie Bush 49ers Jersey . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets will be shuffling the deck again as they look to find a combination of forwards who can put the puck in the net and help keep it out of their own as well. Coach Claude Noel hasnt been shy about moving players around, even shifting them from their usual spots at centre or wing, as he looks for matchups that work. The Jets (4-5-1) are in Ottawa to play the Senators (6-3-2) Saturday. A third-period collapse that let the Toronto Maple Leafs leave Winnipeg with a 3-2 win was the latest headshaker for Noel, as he grasps for something to kick his offence into gear. "To say Im disappointed would be an understatement," a visibly disgusted Noel said after the loss. "Ive got the one line thats minus all over the place and so youve got to make changes. You just cant sit back and watch this, youve got to (start) juggling this thing around." Its still relatively early but, with the loss, the Jets slipped below .500 and out of playoff contention for now in their sophomore season. After a promising start, theyve lost four out of the last five, consistently lose the faceoff battle and their power-play performance has flipped from above average to anaemic. It probably says something that one of the few players Noel had praise for after the game was 24-year-old defenceman Zach Redmond, brought up from the AHL to fill holes caused by injuries. Redmond scored his first goal and third point in the last two games and spent more than 24 minutes on the ice, a measure perhaps of the confidence he has won in just four games. "Hes just getting better, hes getting stronger all the time, one of our better players for a young player," says the coach. The Jets defence overall has been strong offensively, with Tobias Enstrom the leading scorer at 13 points. Hes riding a career-best, eight-game point streak as the top-scoring defenceman in the NHL. Dustin Byfuglien, who hasnt even played the last four games, is still fifth on the Jets scoring list with seven points. So far, however, whatever combo Noel has tried with his forwards has failed to produce consistent results. Overall, the picturre isnt pretty. Corey Lemonier Womens Jersey. He doesnt like to talk No. 1 or No. 2 lines -- he says hell leave it to others to make that call -- but this season it would be pretty hard for anyone to pick one over the other. Evander Kane, Olli Jokinen and Blake Wheeler should be the jets top line and they do have an edge in points -- 21 compared with 18 for the latest Andrew Ladd, Alexander Burmistrov and Bryan Little combo. But collectively, Wheeler, Kane and Jokinen are a -20, compared with a plus five for Ladd, Burmistrov and Little. "You ask me about the personnel of the top six guys? Youve got to change things around, youve got to make some moves," says Noel. Their third and fourth lines have produced only eight points and Nik Antropov has three of those. Chris Thorburn and James Wright are at -1 and Alexei Ponikarovsky sits at -2. In goals against, Winnipeg ranks 28th, having allowed 36. They do better in goals for, with 29 putting them in 11th spot, but their penalty kill is the worst in the NHL. Theyve taken just 33 penalties and let in a dozen goals. Their power play has slipped to 12th, with nine goals in 42 chances, and is going the wrong way. They got one shot away in four tries Thursday night as they went 0-4. The addition of Jokinen and Ponikarovsky brought more size and experience to the Jets offence, but it hasnt produced the kind of consistent scoring ability they need. It hasnt even helped in the kind of team-wide approach to discipline and defence Noel has been preaching. Jokinen has only four points and is a -6, second only to Wheelers -9. Ponikarovsky has one point and took a holding penalty late in the third Thursday that set up Phil Kessels first goal of the season and the game winner. "The problem that I have is that we have of finding a way to lose games. And some of the problems that we get are created by ourselves and thats the disturbing part," says Noel. After the Senators, the Jets return home to play the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins, with Pittsburgh and Boston duelling for the Eastern Conference lead. 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