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. Hi Kerry, Guessing youre going to get a load of emails about Cookes kneeing penalty on Barrie. I know the rules specify that it is due to the severity of the knee rather than the injury that it causes. That being said, I was surprised that the hit on Barrie was not a major, was that a case of Barrie getting up and skating to the bench? Had he stayed on the ice, do you think the referee would have increased the penalty to a five minute major? Im also interested to learn whether Cooke will be counted as a repeat offender, I keep hearing that after 18 months of no suspensions or fines, that the history becomes irrelevant in handing out suspensions. If this is true, than the last time Cooke was suspended was 2011 (TSNs player profiles dont specify fines so I dont know if he was fined in between then and today). Would you consider Cooke a repeat offender despite his 3 year clean record? GarethPrince Rupert, BC -- Hey Kerry, I am a big fan of reading your blog. I always email you in hopes you will answer my inquiries. Matt Cooke has developed a reputation throughout the league as a very dirty player, yet when he kneed Tyson Barrie he was only assessed a minor. I applaud Barrie for being able to get off the ice on his own, but I cannot help but yell at the television whenever they showed Cookes face. I am sure during your time as an official you have seen dirty plays committed by players who have been known to play dirty. Based on your experiences, do you agree with how the officials handled this play? And for the $64,000 question, would you suspend Cooke and for how long? Best Regards,Zach Budnick, New York, NY --- I dont know what game you had the pleasure to take in last night Kerry but this game needed more calls on the obvious infractions. There was the knee on knee from Matt Cooke which got nothing called. After that they had so many obvious interference cheap hits and cross checks from both clubs either behind the play or long after the puck was gone. This game reminded me of exactly what you said you DIDNT want to see from the referees, letting the game get out of their control by missing the easy calls and giving players far too much leniency. My question comes back to Matt Cooke and how the play looked versus the rule book. Should the league suspended him if we look at it by the book? Thanks for all your columns from the only neutral party on the ice. BretWindsor, ON Garreth, Zach (congrats on Q being chosen), and Bret: The language of Rule 50 (kneeing) provides for a minor, major penalty (plus automatic game misconduct) or match penalty to be assessed at the discretion of the referee based on the "severity of the infraction." In judging "severity" of this highly dangerous and dirty act, the referee must take into account the time, space and distance between the two players prior to contact, in addition to the angle of attack by the player guilty of leading with his knee to make contact with his opponent. Most often a two minute minor penalty can result when a player is about to miss an intended check and makes his body posture bigger with a reflex extension of the knee to initiate contact. This is executed with players in close proximity to one another. The extended distance that Matt Cooke travelled through the neutral zone on a straight attack path toward Tyson Barrie, coupled with the fact that Cooke extended his knee well in advance of the impending contact (left skate off the ice through approach), elevates this infraction to a major and game misconduct or even a match penalty (I assessed a match penalty to Bryan Marchment in a game in San Jose for a very similar play when Mush approached his opponent with knee extended outwards a good 8-10 feet prior to delivering a knee hit). Only a minor penalty was assessed on this play. The infraction took place just inside the Colorado blue line. The referee that made the call came into camera frame with his arm raised from the neutral zone outside the blue line on the opposite side of the ice to where the infraction occurred. He was supposed to be the trailing referee on the play and it would appear that he vacated the end zone prematurely. As such, his sight line would have at best been parallel to the play. From this deficient vantage, the referee was provided a completely different perspective of Matt Cookes knee extension and contact. Following the game last night, the National Hockey League Player Safety Committee announced that Matt Cooke was offered the opportunity for an in-person hearing as required by provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for any suspension that can exceed five games. With a Wednesday hearing, it is not a question if Cooke will be suspended but only for how many games. You ask if Matt Cooke can or will be treated as a repeat offender. While Cooke deserves much credit for effecting positive change in his method of play over the past three seasons prior to this incident, the fact remains that a players past history will follow him throughout the balance of his NHL playing career. My colleague and friend Bob McKenzie shared the following information with me that should address your questions. A players record is expunged if he goes 18 months without an infraction but that only applies to the formula for calculating lost wages. If a player has a fine or suspension in last 18 months, hes a repeat offender and the lost wages formula is based on number of games suspended (5/82 for a five game suspension) as opposed to number of days (5/182 for a five game suspension in a 182-day regular season). But a players "history" stays with him as a permanent record and the NHL can take into account any or all past transgressions when determining length of a suspension. History doesnt allow the NHL to suspend a player who, if not for his history, wouldnt be suspended. But once an illegal play has taken place, the NHL can use Matt Cookes history as part of his sentencing even if his transgressions were years ago. In the playoffs there are no lost wages; therefore the actual repeat offender status doesnt come into play for a player suspended in the playoffs unless the suspension carries over to the regular season. By virtue of the in-person hearing being extended, it would appear that Matt Cookes history coupled with the seriousness of this incident could be taken into account for the purpose of suspension. At the very least, the Player Safety Committee is not taking the option to impose a five-plus game suspension off the table. Fake Balenciaga Cheap . Anderson shook off some unusually poor shooting and hit two clutch 3-pointers in overtime that carried the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Cheap Balenciaga https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/. -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. Fake Balenciaga . Pretty good hitting, too. Dan Haren pitched six innings and sparked the go-ahead rally with a single, leading Los Angeles to another win over the skidding Atlanta Braves, 4-2 on Tuesday night. Fake Balenciaga From China .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum.BOSTON -- The regular season wasnt much of a struggle for the Boston Bruins, and neither was their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings. Tuukka Rask made 31 saves Saturday, and the defending Eastern Conference champions eliminated the Red Wings with a 4-2 victory in Game 5. After finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL, the Bruins advanced to the conference semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens. "That series was much tougher than maybe the results showed," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who gave Boston the lead for good with 4 seconds left in the second period. "I think that we handled it well, we came into this series ready and we got the job done." Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for Boston, and Charas goal on a 4-on-3 advantage snapped a 1-1 tie. Milan Lucic also scored, and Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored and Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots for Detroit. The Red Wings scored only six goals in the five-game series. "Were not there yet," said Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, whose team failed to win a playoff series in two of the past three seasons. "The last two years, we battled to get into the playoffs. To me, thats a measure of where we are. Instead of battling for the Cup, were battling to make the playoffs." It was 1-1 when the Bruins gained a 4-on-3 power play thanks to a holding penalty on Johan Franzen just 22 seconds before Brendan Smith was called for cross-checking. On a faceoff in the Detroit zone, Patrice Bergeron lured two of the three Red Wings defenders toward the corner and then passed it across the ice to Chara, who one-timed it past Gustavsson. Not usually demonstrative, Chara felt this one was worth celebrating. "It was a big game and a big goal," he said. "So Im not afraid to show it." Lucics goal with 4:27 gone in the third made it a two-goal game. Detroit made it 3-2 with 3:52 left after Rask made two acrobatic saves but left the puck to the side of the nett for Zetterberg, the Red Wings captain who missed two months with back surgery and did not return until Game 4.dddddddddddd Less than a minute later, though the Wings were called for too many men on the ice, leaving them a man down while trying to finish the comeback. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Boston fans began chanting "We want the cup!" Next up: Montreal, which swept Tampa Bay. "Guys were never ever really talking about Montreal," Iginla said. "We know theyve won their series and theyre going to be next, but the only talk today was about thinking about Detroit and getting this series over." The Bruins won it all in 2011 and returned to the Stanley Cup finals last year before they were eliminated when the Chicago Blackhawks scored two goals in 17 seconds in the final 76 seconds of Game 6. Boston seems on its way for another long playoff run this year, finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL. "We were playing a very good team, a team with a lot of experience, the President Trophy winners," Detroit forward Daniel Alfredsson said. "This is a team that was just playing better than us and we feel a little short." The Bruins scored a power-play goal 3:27 into the first period when Dougie Hamiltons pass bounced off a defenders skate to Eriksson in the slot. Rask earned an assist on the play -- his second career playoff point. It stayed that way until Datsyuk came in and scooped up a rebound 12 seconds into a second-period power play against Lucic for high-sticking. Notes: It was the first NHL playoff game for Red Wings D Xavier Oullette. ... Rask earned an assist on Bostons first goal, his second career playoff point. ... Jimmy Howard, who started in goal for Games 1-3 for Detroit, was the backup. ... Referee Steve Kozari took a puck in the face in the third period. He left the ice through the Bruins bench but returned after a delay of about 2 minutes. ... The Bruins killed off 14 of 15 power plays in the series before allowing a goal after Lucics high-sticking penalty in the second. ' ' '
