for Coyle, whose shot from low in the right circle beat Varlamov on

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 Kerry! Im wondering if you could give us some insight as to why Nazem Kadri got away with only a two for running Niklas Backstrom in Wednesdays game between the Wild and Leafs. Every replay showed an elbow to the head of Backstrom, clear as day. Is the fact that a new Ref was in the game? It seems to me that the weak call was at least partly responsible for the chippy atmosphere afterwards. Any insight would be great! Mike in St Paul, MN --- Hi Kerry, During the Toronto-Minnesota game, Nazem Kadri was given five and a game for a hit to the head. While Kadri got the game misconduct, Phil Kessel served the five-minute major penalty. How do they determine what player serves the five-minute major? Do the coaches pick a player to serve the penalty, and if so does that player have to be on the ice at the time the penalty was called? Kyle Moore Mike and Kyle: Nazem Kadri made two very irresponsible decisions with separate hits to the head of Wild goalkeeper Niklas Backstrom at 7:07 of the first period and then to Mikael Granlund at 8:41 of the third. Both of these illegal hits to the head were worthy of a five-minute match penalty! The match penalty, plus any additional penalties, shall be served by any player (excluding a goalkeeper) to be designated by the Coach through the Captain. The player designated, in this case Phil Kessel, must take his place in the penalty box immediately. Kadri got a two minute free-pass on the Backstrom hit by a rookie referee. Things happen much more quickly in the NHL than in the minor leagues. I am confident the young referee will learn from the experience he gained in his very first NHL game. We shall also see if Nazem Kadri is taught a lesson from both of these experiences? The responsibility is place squarely upon every player to avoid contact with a goalkeeper wherever possible. When contact is unavoidable through a collision the player must do everything within his power to minimize the force generated. Beyond zero attempt by Nazem Kadri to avoid contact with Niklas Backstrom he generated what appears to have been excessive force with his elbow/forearm directly to the facemask of Backstrom causing the goalie to crash the back of his head onto the ice. Following the two minute power-play the Wild enjoyed, Backstrom was forced to leave the game. There is a provision for the referee to assess a major penalty under rule 69 for goalkeeper interference as well as major and game misconduct for charging and elbowing. However, given the fact that Nazem Kadri made a decision to accelerate his elbow/forearm with force directly to the face/head (main point of contact) of Niklas Backstrom elevates the call to a match penalty under rule 48 in my judgment. I see this beyond just a player running out real estate and finding himself in an unavoidable collision with a goalkeeper. Nazem Kadri had other options and a much better decision to make; the very least of which was to plant and finish with an extended forceful elbow/forearm to the head of Niklas Backstrom. There is certainly some precedent set in the area of player contact with goalkeepers both inside and outside of the crease. Classic examples of excessive illegal contact with a goalkeeper were demonstrated when Milan Lucic ran over/body checked Ryan Miller which resulted in a concussion to the Buffalo goalkeeper; then Jordan Tootoo crashed into Miller in the blue paint in the goalies very first game back after recovering from Lucic induced "concussion like symptoms"; in a play-off game Andrew Shaw of the Blackhawks caught Mike Smith with a shoulder cap to the facemask as the goalie played the puck behind the goal. The bar of justice was raised after Milan Lucic escaped with only a minor penalty for charging and no suspension. You may recall my reaction the following day in CMon Ref where I stated that a major penalty and game misconduct plus a three-game suspension was warranted whenever a goalkeeper was run over in that fashion. Both Tootoo and Shaw were assessed a 5 minute major, game misconduct and three game suspensions. The head contact Kadri delivered on Mikael Granlund was totally unnecessary, senseless, irresponsible, wreckless, and dangerous for starters. I could apply a host of other adjectives given the one goal lead the Leafs were protecting in addition to the separation between the two players and as Nazem Kadri approached to make what should have been a legal body check through Granlunds center mass. I must repeat; whenever a player elevates his posture prior to and through a check the head of his opponent is highly susceptible to becoming the main point of contact. The results of Nazem Kadris hearing scheduled this afternoon for hitting the head of Niklas Backstrom are pending. Nike Vapormax España . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Comprar Nike Vapormax Baratas . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. http://www.baratasvapormax.es/ . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Nike Vapormax Rebajas . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Zapatillas Vapormax Baratas . He left in the 4th inning of Saturdays game against the Tigers after experiencing tightness. Reyes and the team still hope that he will be ready for Opening Day in Tampa Bay in one week.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ryan OReilly made sure the Colorado Avalanche kept up their strong play. OReilly scored twice, including the game-winner with 7:16 to play, and the Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 Saturday night. Gabriel Landeskog and Maxime Talbot also scored for Colorado, winners in five of seven. OReilly had his first two-goal game of the season. "Its a big win for us. This is not an easy barn to play in. They play a consistent game and do a great job. Theyre very detailed and they make you play tough," OReilly said. Colorado finished a season-high seven-game homestand Friday with a 4-1-2 record to strengthen its hold on third place in the Central Division behind St. Louis and Chicago. "Tonight meant a lot of confidence for us and two points are big when were going to an even tougher barn in Chicago (on Tuesday)," OReilly added. Charlie Coyle had his first career two-goal game for Minnesota, which lost for the first time in five games, and is eight points behind the Avalanche. "Its not like we played terrible that game," Coyle said. "We can learn from stuff, carry it over to tomorrow night and go from there." Minnesota visits Nashville on Sunday. Tied 2-2, and after Ryan Suters uncharacteristic turnover in the Wild end, OReilly sent a pass to Matt Duchene in the right corner. Duchene sent the puck back to OReilly who lifted a backhand over the left shoulder of Niklas Backstrom from below the right circle. OReilly was back in the lineup after missing two games with a bruised shoulder. "Everything was possible in the third," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. "It was just a matter of sticking to what we were doing and playing hard. Both teams didnt want to lose that game. Both teams wanted to be patient, nobody wanted to make the mistake that could be costly for your team, and I thought we took advantage of it." Talbot added an empty-netter with 1:10 to play Colorados Semyon Varlamov, 8-0-5 in his last 14 games (13 starts), made 25 saves in the win. "Hes probably been our rock all year and hes been a treat to play in front of. Weve got a lot of confidence when hes in the net. When we blew that two-goal lead, he hung in there and calmed us down," defenceman Erik Johnson said. Landeskog gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead midway through the second with a display of precision passing.dddddddddddd The Colorado captain gathered a loose puck in the Avalanche end and carried into the Minnesota zone. Just across the blue line, he sent a pass to his left for Talbot who quickly passed to Paul Stastny near the right circle. His saucer pass found Landeskog in front just in time for him to cut across the crease and tuck the puck past a downed Niklas Backstrom. OReilly made it 2-0 at 13:25 when he took a pass from John Mitchell low in the right circle and fired a quick shot that Backstrom got a piece of before the puck trickled between his pads and across the line. Minnesota, again playing without injured stars Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu, had just one shot until the 14-minute mark of the period, but Coyle scored twice in the ensuing minute. First, he and Dany Heatley executed a textbook give-and-go with Coyle getting behind a Colorado defenceman and sliding the puck through the pads of Varlamov as he faked a deke. Forty seconds later, Heatley took a pass from Nate Prosser below the goal line and centred for Coyle, whose shot from low in the right circle beat Varlamov on the stick side. His span between goals set a franchise record for fastest two goals by a Wild player at home. "Certainly, that was a great shift," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We need guys to step up. Its got to be different guys every night. Despite that we have guys out, we have guys that are capable." Each goalie was rarely tested in the first period -- the teams combined for just five shots in the opening 15 minutes -- until Varlamov made a pair of quality saves to stop Kyle Brodziak and Matt Cooke from in front as the Wild had a flurry late in the frame. NOTES: Stastny left the game with a leg injury. Roy said he is day-to-day.... Heatleys multi-point game was his first since Nov. 20. ... Colorado D Karl Stollery made his NHL debut. He was recalled from AHL Lake Erie Friday to replace D Nate Guenin, who was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. ... The Wild wore camouflage jerseys during warmup that will be auctioned off to benefit the teams foundation and Defending The Blue Line, which helps military families with hockey costs. ' ' '