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. We break from the Cmon Ref mailbag for a day to answer an interesting question asked of me last night @kfraserthecall on Twitter. Kerry:Whats your view on officials calling a penalty on Bryce Salvadore after watching the replay on the arena screen? It appeared there was a high stick, but it wasnt called. Fans were loud, refs watched video, then made the call. Devils coach Peter DeBoer went nuts.Steve @08008steve Steve:Thank you for providing this question. It is somewhat unusual, but certainly not impossible for a penalty to be changed following a conference held amongst the on-ice officials. Based on the reaction of Peter DeBoer, his players on the bench and commentary on both broadcast feeds, a perception in varying degrees existed that the call was changed only after the officials viewed the replay on the scoreboard in the Wells Fargo Center. We will never know for certain if the smoking gun was handed to the officials courtesy of the replay. I have a different take on the situation following the immediate support that was provided to young referee Mark Lemelin by his colleagues in a conference once it became apparent the wrong player (Steve Downie of the Flyers) was being sent to the penalty box. I believe this was going to take place irrespective of anyone who might have snuck a peak at the Jumbotron on the way to this meeting of the minds! In fairness to the young referee, his assignments are split between the AHL and NHL. Things happen much more quickly in the NHL and it can be baptism under fire once any player or official moves up to this ultimate level of the game. There is something to be learned from every game worked and experience is a great teacher. On this play the young referee correctly raised his arm for a delayed high-sticking penalty when Matt Read of the Flyers clipped Bryce Salvadore on the side of the head while delivering a body check on the Devils player against the boards in front of the penalty box. Following the impact of the check, Salvadores stick came up and caught Downie in the face as the Flyer approached from the frontal position. In effect there were two high sticking infractions that occurred almost simultaneously on the same play. Lemelin however was looking through the back of Downie from a considerable distance in the end zone and did not see Salvadores stick strike the Flyer forward. Not yet all that familiar with NHL team personnel, he mistook Downie for Read in the quickness of the play and the close proximity of the three players. Once play was stopped, the ref approached Salvadore to see if any injury resulted from the "Matt Read" high stick. Mistakenly, the ref then imposed the penalty to Steve Downie who was also rubbing his face and checking to see if he had all his teeth following the high stick he received from Salvadore. From the players bench side it would have been obvious to the other officials (and the teams) that it was Downie that was struck by the stick of Salvadore. Once it was announced that Downie was assessed the penalty, a quick conference was convened by the other members of the crew to straighten out the confusion. What was lost in the correction process was the initial high-stick that the young ref correctly signaled when Salvadore was struck with Reads stick. I am certain it happened in a flash and a blur in the Lemelins eye and mind. Once it was brought to his attention by the other officials that Downie took a stick in the face the young ref would question his initial take on the play and defer to the senior members of the crew. That is the most logical way that this situation played out. That being said, we often see a camera shot of a coach on the bench pointing up to a replay on the big screen when he feels the official has blown a call. In that example the coach has no problem using the replay to his benefit even though the call wont likely be changed. The officials dont skate around the ice with horse blinders on so Im not saying the temptation to peak at the Jumbotron is out of the question when they grope with getting a call right. As long as the League allows in-house replays, who could blame any of the officials if they happened to skate to the conference with their head held high - you never know whats playing at a theatre near you! St. Louis Cardinals Gear .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. Stan Musial Cardinals Jersey . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ . -- Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf has been suspended two games for his hit from behind on Kevan Miller of the Bruins. Jose Martinez Jersey .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. Rogers Hornsby Jersey . Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. You can listen to the game live on TSN 1200 in Ottawa at 7:30pm et. The Senators have lost four of their last six at home versus the Blackhawks and a late-season fade has just about knocked them out of the playoff race. They snapped a six-game slide with Mondays shootout win over Tampa Bay, but lost a 3-2 shootout to the Florida Panthers the following night. Ottawa has gone 2-6-3 in its last 11 and sits eight points back of four teams tied for the two wild card berths in the Eastern Conference. On Tuesday, Vincent Trocheck and Brandon Pirri beat Ottawas Robin Lehner in the shootout. After Turris rattled a goal off the post and in, Jason Spezza fired wide on Ottawas second chance and Floridas Roberto Luongo ended the game with a glove save on Michaleks backhand as he did a split in the crease. Lehner had 39 saves for the Senators, who begin a five-game homestand tonight. "It is what it is," Lehner said of the loss. "We lost that one but I thought it was a good effort." Anderson may get the start tonight and it would be his first since March 10, when he suffered an upper-body injury. He is 4-1-2 with a 3.43 GAA lifetime versus the Blackhawks. Bobby Ryan, who leads Ottawa with 23 goals, missed his second game with a lower-body injury and will miss the rest of the regular season due to surgery to correct a sports hernia. Ryan was acquired in a trade with Anaheim on the same day long-time Sens skater Daniel Alfredsson signed with the Detroit Red Wings. He finished his first season in Ottawa with 48 points in 70 games.dddddddddddd The Blackhawks went into Thursday nights game versus the hosting Boston Bruins needing just one point to clinch a playoff spot, but were blanked 3-0 in their first trip to TD Garden since winning the Cup last June. Corey Crawford stopped 20 shots for the Blackhawks, who had won three of their previous four but were shut out for the second time in three games. A struggling power play didnt help. Chicago went 0-for-2 on the man advantage and has gone 0-for-20 in its last seven on the road. "Were looking to get one more win," Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said. Chicago played a fourth straight game without winger Patrick Kane due to a lower-body injury and fellow forward Bryan Bickell also sat out his fourth in a row because of an upper-body issue. Still, the Blackhawks sit second in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche but 14 up on the fourth-place Minnesota Wild. It is unknown if Crawford will start on back-to-back nights or if rookie backup Antti Raanta will face the Senators for the first time. Crawford is 2-0-0 with a 1.92 goals against average in his career against Ottawa, picking up a victory in relief on Oct. 29. He yielded one goal on 15 shots in spelling Nikolai Khabibulin as the Blackhawks rallied for a 6-5 win. Jonathan Toews scored twice in the third period to notch a hat trick as the Blackhawks beat the Senators for a third straight meeting and for the sixth time in the last seven encounters. Ottawa saw Craig Anderson allow six goals on 40 shots, while Kyle Turris and Milan Michalek both had a goal and an assist. ' ' '