On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• • NHL officials who made - and missed - the cut for the NHL Conference Finals, including some surprises.
  • Zebra down! We’ve seen standby officials called into action quite a few times in the playoffs, including after recent injuries to Kelly Sutherland and Chris Rooney.
  • Canes’ Shayne Gostisbehere vs. Panthers’ Brad Marchand - we’ve got a puck shot at a player with no penalty or fine, followed by a mysterious extra penalty for Florida. What happened?
  • It’s not only hard to defend with a broken stick, it’s illegal, as Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns found out.
  • Oilers’ Evander Kane with a clear high stick - at least from this angle - on the Stars’ Matt Duchene.
  • Carolina’s Brent Burns puts the Canes offside, wiping out their only goal in Game 2.
  • Was Niko Mikkola’s hit on Seth Jarvis legal? The NHL rule book says it was…
  • More rough stuff in the IIHF with a cross-checking ejection at Austria vs. Switzerland.
  • Looking back at a close call on an offside at Leafs/Panthers, where Toronto was smart not to challenge based on the often-misunderstood delayed offside rule, and a good goal off the skate - without a distinct kicking motion - from the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho.

  
  

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  Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, BlueSky, and Threads. Email us your questions - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠heyref@scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #RefsPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We'll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was - or wasn't - handed out.

On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• Was it a kick? Or a deflection? Or both? Stars/Jets gives us a controversial goal that went off Alex Petrovic’s skate, off goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s stick and in. Did the Situation Room make the right call?

• Official injury updates; two linesmen are out for the playoffs

• NHL Series Supervisors - who are they and what do they do?

• Dallas Stars’ Mason Marchment slashes referee Graham Skilliter - and gets away with it

• A crosscheck to the face results in a $7000 fine to Vegas Golden Knights’ Nic Roy, which is over the $5000 we always hear is the ‘maximum allowable under the CBA’

• A high stick is legal when it’s a follow-through, but that wasn’t the case for the Winnipeg Jets’ Haydn Fleury.

• Also, it’s not a penalty when you high stick your team trainer, as Tomas Hertl found out.

• Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour was furious after a high-sticking penalty to Jordan Staal was really the result of friendly fire, but not eligible for review.

• Toronto Maple Leafs’ Max Domi was fined for a late hit on Florida Panthers’ Sasha Barkov, but there was no call and no fine for an attempted elbow by Dmitry Kulikov on Mitch Marner.

• Plus, what is a fight in the IIHF, and how did one scrum result in three fighting majors at France vs. Slovakia? The answer - and the definition - might surprise you.

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Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, BlueSky, and Threads. Email us your questions - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠heyref@scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #RefsPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We'll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was - or wasn't - handed out.

On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• Creative crowd chants - more than just ‘ref you suck’

• Officials set for the IIHF World Championship as well as in the OHL Championship Series and the USHL Clark Cup Final
• A minor incident at Leafs/Panthers between Sam Bennett and Anthony Stolarz results in an injury but no call, no fine, no suspension
• Referee Wes McCauley is called into duty as a linesman after an injury to Shandor Alphonso, working this lines for the first time in the NHL
• Florida Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues gets crunched into the boards by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Scott Laughton, with each player picking up a minor penalty on the play as Rodrigues is whistled for embellishment. After review, we’re not so sure about that one…
• Edmonton’s Connor Brown takes a penalty for goaltender interference, but it looks like the contact was caused by Vegas forward Brett Howden
• Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy gets ejected in overtime - major penalty and game misconduct - for a crosscheck to the face of Edmonton Oilers’ Trent Frederic
• No call in overtime on the Oilers’ Viktor Arvidsson for a dangerous trip on Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, who crashed awkwardly into the boards and suffered an injury on the play.
• The Athletic’s Rule Court gives us some interesting suggestions to weigh in on. Our take on possible tweaks to offside, playoff standings, and faceoffs – including one that would have a huge unexpected (and probably well-received) impact.

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Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, BlueSky, and Threads. Email us your questions - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠heyref@scoutingtherefs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #RefsPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We'll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was - or wasn't - handed out.