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. Hey Ref The news says Ryan Getzlafs good fortune got the Anaheim Ducks their first win of the season. I say, the Ref blew the game. HOOKING, HOOKING. Getzlaf non-hooking call cost the Wings the game. Whats the correct call, Kerry? Hopefully the NHL will have a chat to this young ref. Thanks, Bill Ducks vs Wings, Saturday night game, with 23 seconds to go....Getzlav hooks Kronwalls hands as he has the puck in the corner. He goes down, Getzlav brings the puck out and scores the game winner. Are the wings cheated out of a sure point, maybe 2, or was that a fair non call at a critical time in the game? We can all agree, in todays NHL, that gets called in the first 2 periods 100 per cent of the time. Thanks for your analysis, Sam What would you have called on Getzlaff ? Hook or Knonwall just fell? Don Verrier Bill, Sam and Don: I reviewed Ryan Getzlafs game-winning goal at the request of Jamie Bibby, a follower of @kfraserthecall on twitter. Jamie admitted to being a Bias Red Wing fan but agreed with my analysis of the play. What, say you? I maintain, as did referee Tom Kowal, that while Ryan Getzlaf extended his stick with a one-handed reach and made contact with the lower hand of Niklas Kronwall, it was Kronwalls skate striking the dasher kick-plate that caused the Detroit defenceman to fall and turn the puck over. It was an excellent non-call by the referee! A referee must take into account the cause and effect of a play when determining whether an infraction of the rules has been committed. A stick slash, even one that appears to be somewhat forceful, often requires the evidence of a smoking gun determined through breakage, or when an opponents stick is knocked out of his hands prior to the referee applying his judgment to call a penalty. A stick placed in an opponents skates, hands or other location is not necessarily a penalty until a legitimate trip or violation actually occurs. There must be the presence of some negative consequence in determining almost all potential infractions. To the point, an illegal advantage must be gained as a direct result of some action committed by the offending player. One misnomers, propagated in large part by broadcasters, is that a stick placed in a parallel position, which makes contact with an opponents hands is generally ruled an automatic penalty by the refs. While there is a heightened awareness and focus by the referees to this potential foul, there must be some resulting consequence to the action before it becomes a penalty. As you looked at the beginning of this play you would note that Kronwall pinched at the Ducks blue line and attempted to contain Getzlaf from breaking through the neutral zone with a hook placed in the parallel position. Kronwalls stick did in fact contact Getzlafs lower hand and the Ducks captain was slightly turned but played through the restraint and continued to attack the puck. Kronwalls stick was in the parallel position, did make contact with Getzlafs hands, did cause some restraint but the resulting effect was not sufficient to warrant a penalty in the correct judgment of referees Kelly Sutherland and Kowal. The one-hand, weak extended reach by Getzlaf likewise did not turn the Detroit player or cause him to lose the puck or his footing. Kronwalls fall to the ice was directly a result of his own body position which caused his skate to hit the kick-plate almost simultaneously with the reach by Getzlaf. To penalize Getzlaf on this play would have been an overreaction. Referee Tom Kowal deserves kudos for gaining the proper sightline and applying the correct judgment on this difficult play. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian brethren and Columbus Day wishes to my fellow U.S. citizens. 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The Raptors starting centre had been a spectator since late in the third quarter, amounting to roughly an hour of real time spent on the bench since he was last on the floor. As his coach feared, Valanciunas was more than a little rusty, playing 25 seconds in the first OT frame and the bulk of the second until Casey opted to go with Tyler Hansbrough to close the game in the third and final period of extra time. "It really wasnt fair to Jonas," Casey said in hindsight, following his teams marathon 134-129 loss to Washington. "It wasnt his fault." Upon reentering, Toronto immediately ran a pick-and-roll for Valanciunas, however the pass from Greivis Vasquez - who was trapped on the right elbow - was mistimed and ultimately deflected before it reached Valanciunas in the middle of the key, the turnover charged to Vasquez. A few minutes later, Valanciunas received the ball on the left block and with the clock winding down he flipped up a quick shot that was swatted by Marcin Gortat, his first of two field goal attempts in the period, both blocked by Gortat. With just over one minute remaining in double OT, the game tied at 116, Valanciunas negated a Vasquez runner, needlessly tipping in the shot that was already on its way down, above the cylinder. The look of frustration on the sophomores face said it all. This was not his night. The Raptors were outscored by 14 points in the 29 minutes that Valanciunas was on the floor. "I feel really sad," Valanciunas lamented, with his head down after the game. "I feel really bad right now. I could do a much better job than what I did." Valanciunas lost more than his rhythm, sitting as long as he did in the second half of Thursdays ball game. His confidence appeared to be at an all-time low. The second-year centre has had a rough couple of weeks, averaging 7.1 points and 7.6 rebounds, shooting 45 per cent in 24 minutes per in his last eight games. Over the previous eight contests, he put up averages of 15.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, shot 58 per cent from the field and logged just over 29 minutes a night. Perhaps fatigue has played a factor - he eclipsed his minute total from his rookie season last week - but the most noticeable variation in his approach hinders on an immeasurable concept that he has downplayed in the past. Swagger. Valanciunas is a different animal when he plays with that edge, anger and fire, when he gets outside of his head, stops over-thinking the game and just plays basketball. Too often you can almost see his thought process on the court, his movements are robotic as he aims to avoid disaster, fearful of making a mistake that will draw the ire of his head coach. However, hes at his best when he plays freely and Casey knows it. "The key is patience, not gettiing down on yourself, have fun," Casey said after morning shoot-around on Thursday.dddddddddddd "I mean youre playing basketball. Theres no pressure on JV to produce. The pressure is on DeMar (DeRozan) and Kyle (Lowry) and Amir, the older guys." Given the unreasonably high preseason expectations its easy to overlook the fact that Valanciunas is still only 21-year-old, playing in his first full season after missing a sizeable chunk of his rookie campaign due to injury. Hes had an eventful year, participating in Summer League for the Raptors and competing with Lithuania in the FIBA qualifying tournament during the offseason. Hes still learning the NBA game, getting fully accustomed to his surroundings and most importantly finding his way as a player. None of that is lost of Casey, who refuses to put the cart before the horse when it comes to the development of his young centre. "I told him to stay with it," Casey said after Valanciunas logged just 17 minutes in Tuesdays win over Cleveland. "Right now hes pressing so much. [I] just told him to relax [and] play basketball." On account of their unexpected success this season the Raptors ultimate objective has been altered slightly. Although theyre now looking ahead to the playoffs and hoping to make some noise come April, their primary goal has not changed. Casey is still focused on developing his young players, namely Valanciunas and fellow sophomore Terrence Ross. "The hardest thing to do is to develop and win at the same time," Casey said. "Luckily weve got some wins and these guys are developing at the same time. Its the hardest thing to do because a lot of times theyre in there when they really dont deserve to, not as much lately but in the first part of the year." However, Casey wont coddle either sophomore with unconditional playing time. Valanciunas, like Ross, has had the opportunity to play and learn through his mistakes but the criteria for remaining on the floor long enough to do so has been made clear since the get go. "Offensively right now, hes not making his post moves, but thats going to come," Casey said. "Get some sweat shots, get some tip-ins, go to the offensive boards, screen. Do some of the sweat jobs and that will help him get his rhythm in the post." The process is gradual and, as Casey reminds us, its not going to happen overnight. Valanciunas possesses the ability, the desire and the work ethic to be a top tier NBA centre but its not going to happen in the middle of his second season. It takes time and no one in the Raptors organization will rush him. For now, Valanciunas is a matchup play. His minutes will continue to be sporadic as Casey leans on quicker, more experienced and versatile defenders in Johnson and Patterson some nights, depending on the opponent and whichever version of Valanciunas comes to play. Through it all, he cant lose focus and most importantly he cant lose his confidence. Hes got to keep his head up - on and off the floor - continue to work and learn whether hes in the game or on the bench. The Raptors are exercising patience with their young big man but he needs to be patient with himself. Blackhawks Jerseys StoreCheap Wild JerseysCheap Red Wings JerseysCheap Maple Leafs JerseysPenguins Jerseys StoreCapitals Jerseys For SaleBlues Jerseys StoreCheap Kings JerseysAdidas Lightning JerseysStars Jerseys For SaleCheap Predators JerseysDucks StoreSharks Jerseys For SaleCheap Sabres JerseysRangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '