Rosenhof: Story » opening round. Ducks forward Mathieu Perreault retu

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, I would like your opinion on the Joe Pavelski shootout goal. It appears that Pavelski comes to a stop, waits and then shoots. Should this goal have counted in the shootout? Unapologetic Ducks fan. Kerry, On Saturday night during the shootout, San Joses Joe Pavelski appeared to come to a complete stop while moving towards Jonas Hiller. Immediately after stopping he shot the puck and scored the only goal (for either team) during the shootout. I thought that the rules were that both the puck and the shooter had to keep up uninterrupted forward momentum for the goal to count? A little clarification would be great because Id hate to think that yet another game this season was decided by a refs blown call, there have been FAR too many of those already. Love the column, thanks for helping further everyones education and knowledge about the game that we all love. Greg Lykes Greg and our Unapologetic Ducks fan, Welcome to another shootout "razzle-dazzle" which should be redefined in the rule book as an NHL skills competition where anything goes. Its about time to change the wording in rule 24 to include, "any move that resembles a skilled hockey play." The lacrosse-like whip and spin-o-rama are approved for use as skilled moves and both involve continuous motion. It might be argued that Joe Pavelski maintained a semblance of forward motion when he slammed on the brakes resulting in a forward slide and then immediately turned his blades from that sliding stop to a continuation of his glide momentum towards Jonas Hiller. There was also an ever so slight forward rotation of the puck only detected by video replay as Pavelski executed a stickhandle move in conjunction with his sliding stop. Pavelskis stick motion, from back to front, throughout this stickhandle maneuver is deemed legal puck possession as he teed the puck up for a shot. All this allows the execution of Pavelskis shootout move to be deemed "legal" by a technicality. Rule 24.2 presently reads, "However, should the puck come to a complete stop at any time during the shot attempt, the shot shall be stopped and no goal will be the result." To the naked eye in real-time, it appears that both the puck and Pavelski came to a complete stop. Slow-motion video review can provide a different picture; especially if the viewer desires all of these "hockey plays" to be deemed legal. My take is that an attacker is given a distinct and unfair advantage over the goalkeeper on most of these "stop and go" type maneuvers. While it might be entertaining for fans during an All-Star Game Skills Competition where there is little on the line except bragging rights, a regular season shootout is worth a point in the standings. Shootout wins can make a huge difference in the final standings for playoffs. The integrity of the final standings is being compromised by circumventing the spirit of Rule 24 through unfair advantages shooters are being given over the goalkeepers. Short of a rule change, the referees should be empowered to kill the play whenever they determine (with their naked eye) that the puck has not been kept in motion towards the goal as the current rule states. It would take a large measure of courage on the part of the refs to make that call, in addition to support offered from a Hockey Operations Dept. that has set the existing standard. Dont expect a change anytime soon unless the goalkeeper fraternity revolts en masse. Barry Bonds Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. Kent Tekulve Pirates Jersey . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Corey-Dickerson-pirates-jersey/ . Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. Melky Cabrera Jersey . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. Josh Bell Pirates Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to take the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday by recording a fourth straight win over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6 from Staples Center. You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. Anaheim lost the first two games of this best-of-seven series on home ice, but has since rattled off three consecutive victories to grab a 3-2 advantage over the Kings. The Ducks became the first home team to win a game in this series when it notched a 4-3 win in Mondays Game 5 encounter in Orange County. The Kings, however, are unbeaten in elimination games this spring. L.A. won four in a row to beat San Jose in the opening round after dropping the first three games of that set, becoming the fourth club in NHL history to win a series after falling behind 3-0. The emergence of John Gibson has been the big story over the last two games, as the Ducks rookie goaltender is 2-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and .957 save percentage since getting the surprise start in Game 4. The 20-year- old posted a 28-save shutout in his postseason debut in Game 4 at Los Angeles and stopped 39-of-42 shots in Mondays close victory. "I think I got tested more," said Gibson after Game 5. "I got more shots, and the guys did a really good job in front of me again. Thats why were winning." Devante Smith-Pelly scored twice on Monday to help move Anaheim one victory away from its first appearance in the conference finals since 2007, when the team won its only Stanley CCup title.dddddddddddd "Its huge. Thats a pretty good team over there and we dont want to give them too many chances to get off the mat," said Smith-Pelly about the upcoming game. "Were going to be ready for that game, for sure." Nick Bonino and Jakob Silfverberg also scored goals for the Ducks, who won the Pacific Division title this year before beating the Dallas Stars in the opening round. Ducks forward Mathieu Perreault returned Monday from a one-game absence due to a lower-body injury. He assisted on one of Smith-Pelleys goals and has five points (2G, 3A) in nine postseason games this spring. Fellow forward Matt Beleskey has missed the last two games for Anaheim with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Game 6. Marian Gaborik lit the lamp twice in the loss and Trevor Lewis added the other goal for the Kings. Jonathan Quick give up all four goals on 24 shots in the loss. "Now we have to go home and win a home game," said Los Angeles forward Anze Kopitar. "Thats the bottom line. There is no secret to it. We want to come back here and give us a chance." Gaborik leads all players with eight goals in the playoffs, while Kopitar has 16 points for the top spot in the postseason The Kings, the 2012 Stanley Cup champions, are attempting to make the conference final round for a third straight spring. This series, which has been dubbed the "Freeway Faceoff," is the first playoff matchup between these Southern California rivals. ' ' '