a lead late, were leaving timeouts and not executing. "We took t

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! Kerry, First off, I love the Q&As that you do (even though I often wasnt your biggest fan when I was watching games growing up... just kidding... kind of). In the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning game Saturday night, I saw the official, referee Gord Dwyer, help Steven Stamkos to the bench after his skate blade broke. I have never seen this before in the NHL. Shortly after, Alex Killorn, the player who came on for Stamkos, scored the game-tying goal. I can understand picking up a loose stick on the ice, but helping a player to the bench during play seems unfair and I have never seen another official do that. Is this commonplace and I just dont see it more often, or was an unfair advantage given to Stamkos and the Lightning in this situation? Best, Brock R.Cedar Falls, Iowa --- Hi Kerry,I am sure you have had numerous emails about this incident but go on and choose mine for the column and show the worldwide profile NHL l now enjoys, even in Ireland. I was watching the Penguins and Lightning game Saturday and was more than perplexed by an incident that occured late in the third period. The incident resulted in a goal for the Lightning as a result of referee, Gord Dwyer, helping Steven Stamkos off the ice when he had an issue with his skate. Indeed one could argue Stamkos interfered, albeit minimally, with Paul Martin as he left the ice. My understanding was either Stamkos could make his own way off the ice, be assisted by line mates or failing that the referee would blow the play dead as he would for an injury and the resulting faceoff would take place outside the Pittsburgh defensive zone? What is your view on this? Darragh McMahon, Ireland. --- Kerry, Im sure you got more than one email on this, but its a bizarre play. How is the ref allowed to help a player (Stamkos) off the ice instead of blowing the play dead, and have that player bump into a player (Paul Martin) on the opposing team who is in the middle of the play? People want to say the NHL doesnt give stars preferential treatment, but all you have to do is play that clip. Thanks for reading and keep up the great column. Nick --- Hi Kerry What is your opinion on an official pushing Stamkos over to the bench after one of his skates broke? Thanks for your input. John Dickie --- The other night Im watching Penguins/Lightning and Stamkos loses his skate blade and the referee gives him a push halfway across the ice...what do you think about this and do you think its okay? Thanks, Dylan Rogers --- Dear Fans (With special welcome to Darragh McMahon all the way from Ireland): This certainly is an unusual situation (check out the viz) and magnified by the fact that Tyler Johnson (Steven Stamkos replacement) set up the Lightning power play goal scored by Alex Killorn which tied the game with 3:10 remaining in regulation. Gord Dwyer is a good and conscientious Referee. Gord is also a really good person. The Refs human instinct here was to assist a player that was placed in harms way once he witnessed Steven Stamkos slip, slide and stumble toward a potential groin injury (or worse) some 100 feet from his bench. This wasnt Star treatment that was being extended by Dwyer, but legitimate concern for a players well-being. The courtesy of providing two strides and a shove by the Ref was creative and would have been done for all the right reasons. With hindsight being 20-20 the end result supports the claim by some that, "No good deed goes unpunished!" You must first understand that theres no official policy on assisting a player that has sustained an injury or broken a skate and is attempting to make his way to the bench under his own power while handing a player that has lost his stick is a definite no-no. A policy might be instituted as a result of this intervention by Referee Dwyer but that remains to be seen. I will tell you that I have instinctively helped more than one injured player to his bench as play continued and even one with a broken skate that had no adverse effect. I know that many other Officials have done the same with regard to injured players. We not only want to ensure the player gets medical attention quickly but also to keep the play moving for game flow. Rule 8 advises us that play can be stopped immediately when a serious injury has been sustained; otherwise the Referee must wait for a change in puck possession unless his team is in a scoring position. While this was not an injury situation in the moment, Referee Dwyer might have decided to be proactive to prevent an injury from occurring. How can we fault him if that were the case? Had Steven Stamkos laid on the ice play could have been stopped or once the puck cleared the Pens zone an offside might result in a whistle with Stamkos still down. The Pens dumped the puck all the way down into the Lightning corner at the moment Steven Stamkos broke his skate blade. With the dump time and space was created for Stamkos to attempt his slide to the bench and for the Referee to allow his instincts to take over and assist. It certainly would have seemed innocent enough at the time for any Ref. Rule 63 (delay of game) states that play shall not be stopped nor the game delayed by reasons of adjustments to clothing, equipment, skates or sticks. This typically applies to situations when play has already been halted to avoid delays but the broad wording might also stretch to when play is actually in progress. At some point, common sense would take over and play would be stopped if a player could not make his way to the bench. Due to the ultimate scoring of the goal it is easy to suggest that an unfair advantage was offered by the Referee to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I believe that in this situation the Referee acted creatively and instinctively to assist a player that was in a difficult position without disrupting the flow of play. Unless Stephen Walkom issues a firm "hands off" policy to the Officials in situations such as this (hindsight aside), what Referee Gord Dwyer did speaks to the humanness of the Referees and Linesmen that place the well being of players first. Shoes UK Online Store . About seven hours before facing Washington in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference second round series, team officials said the oft-injured Bynum would miss the rest of the playoffs and would not even be with the team for the rest of the post-season. Shoes Online UK Review .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. https://www.shoesukonline.com/ . -- Mixed martial arts fighter Cristiane Justino Santos has been suspended and fined for testing positive for steroids. Wholesale Shoes UK .ca. Hi Kerry, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality. Wholesale Shoes UK Free Shipping . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins.LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Arkansas didnt need a spectacular dunk to beat No. 17 Kentucky in overtime this time around. Perfect free throw shooting worked just fine for the Razorbacks, a fundamental they executed much better than the Wildcats, with Coty Clarke and Kikko Hayder providing the final touches in the extra session. Clarke scored four of his seven points in OT from the foul line and Arkansas upset the Wildcats 71-67 on Thursday night to complete a season sweep. Six weeks after Michael Qualls beat the Wildcats with a last-second dunk in OT, Clarke lifted the Razorbacks this time with a 3-pointer and foul shooting, making two free throws with 36.7 seconds left for a 69-64 lead. Foul shots were the difference in the game, with Arkansas making all six attempts in overtime and going 16 for 16 overall. Kentucky was 12 of 22 from the line and just 6 of 14 in the second half. "They got tired and you could tell when they were going up and missing," said Clarke, who went 6 for 6 to finish with 11 points. "We were able to capitalize. You need that going in against a team like this on the road to maintain. Thats what we were able to do." James Youngs 3-pointer brought Kentucky (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) within two, but Haydar made two more from the line with 17 seconds left for the final margin. Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison each missed a 3 at the end for the Wildcats. The surging Razorbacks (19-9, 8-7) have won four straight and six of seven. They evened their OT record at 2-2. Clarke was one of four Razorbacks in double figures. Qualls scored 14 to lead the way, with Rashad Madden adding 12 and Anthlon Bell 10. Arkansas was outrebounded 47-38 and outscored 42-20 in the paint while committing 20 turnovers and shooting just 41 per cent. None of that stopped the Razorbacks from beating Kentucky for the third straight time and earning their first win at Rupp Arena since their 1993-94 NCAA championship season. "It was good to see our guys come out on the right side of things, afteer so many overtime games," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said.dddddddddddd Willie Cauley-Stein led Kentucky with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Andrew Harrison and Julius Randle each scored 14 and Young 11 on a night when the Wildcats shot just 26 of 76 (34 per cent) from the field. Randle also had 10 rebounds but went 2 of 5 from the foul line. Kentucky struggled with easy shots the whole game. Despite outscoring Arkansas in the lane, the Wildcats missed many from close in as the Razorbacks disrupted their flow shooting and passing. "They beat us to loose balls," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "We missed 10 one-foot shots. We missed all free throws that mattered. We have a lead late, were leaving timeouts and not executing. "We took two steps back today. Give them (the Razorbacks) credit, they played hard." The Razorbacks also gained bragging rights in a matchup of the SECs top two offences. But they had to do it at the foul line with baskets hard to come by for both teams in a scrappy if sloppy second half. Trailing 50-43 with 12:03 remaining and struggling for offensive consistency, the Wildcats battled back with tough defence to outscore the Razorbacks 11-2 over 6:14. Cauley-Steins dunk at the 5:31 mark provided Kentuckys first lead since the early minutes. But the Wildcats missed three of four free throws late in regulation along with a couple of jumpers. Andrew Harrison also committed a costly turnover in the final minute on a lob attempt to Alex Poythress, allowing Arkansas to come back from a 60-56 deficit and force overtime. Arkansas had a chance to win at the end of regulation after Clarke blocked Andrew Harrisons jumper, but Alandise Harris long 3-pointer bounced off the rim. Clarke took over from there in overtime, culminating in a road win the Razorbacks have been waiting to secure for a long time. "We just had to stay poised," Harris said. "Weve been down, weve been up. We just had to make plays to get us where we needed to be." ' ' '