Off Topic » Points are hard to come by and shootout

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. Four rivalry matchups will kick start the 2014-15 NHL regular season schedule tonight as all 30 teams firmly set their gaze on a Stanley Cup-winning season. In a league that has enjoyed considerable parity over the past number of seasons just securing a spot in the post-season will be a challenge for several teams. Points are hard to come by and shootout wins can sometimes be the difference between a team going on in mid-April or just simply going home! While the leagues competition committee has tinkered with the playing rules to make some minor changes - primarily in an effort to generate more offence a€“ heres my perspective on adjustment of the shootout process and increase the odds of determining a winner in the overtime period. Im thrilled with the elimination of the spin-o-rama move from the shootout process. The circus atmosphere reserved for the All-Star Games skills competition had no rightful place in determining the eventual winning team in the regular season. A clear unfair advantage was granted to the shooter over the goalkeeper. The move, which I first saw introduced by Bobby Orr and later perfected by Denis Savard at high speed, is without question a skilled move. The difference here, however, is that these gents performed the move in close quarters with the possibility of being checked by an opponent; none of which exists during a penalty shot or shootout. The longstanding rule whereby the puck must be kept in forward motion toward the goal line often appeared to be violated without consequence. To the naked eye, the puck stopped or even travelled in a backward direction through the spin move or the hard stop and go that some players utilized. Expanded video review capabilities under Rule 38 will allow a broader discretion to Hockey Operations to determine the legitimacy of all potential goals and can include forward motion of the puck toward the goal line during a penalty shot or shootout. The process should now provide more acceptable legal parameters for the shooter to operate under, pitted against the ability of the goalkeeper to defend. A change to Rule 84 just might determine the outcome of a tied game before even entering the shootout session. Teams will now switch ends prior to the start of overtime in the regular season following a dry scrape of the ice surface. Fresh ice will surely help to enhance the four-on-four level of play. More importantly, however, is the statistic that more goals are scored in the second period due to the longer change from the players bench. I see these as positive changes in determining a winner. To finish off todays feature, congratulations to veteran linesman Jean Morin for his return to action after missing all of last season due to a serious back injury and surgery. Jean is a top notch linesman and the game is certainly better with his return. Cmon Ref looks forward to answering your questions beginning Thursday. Let the games begin! Authentic Jeremy Kerley Jersey . Two-time Olympic bronze medallists Savchenko and Szolkowy received 79.02 points to finish ahead of world bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada, who had 77.01 points. Authentic Jason Croom Jersey . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute. http://www.cheapbillsjerseysauthentic.co...peterman-jersey. Hes even holding a bat on one of his 2014 baseball cards. So far, hes playing like his picture. Authentic Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Authentic Austin Proehl Jersey . A police inspector told The Associated Press the crane operator is not yet suspected of any wrongdoing but is considered a key witness to the accident at the Arena Corinthians.(SportsNetwork.com) - The surging Vancouver Canucks will aim for a third straight victory when they battle the Toronto Maple Leafs in Saturdays showdown at Air Canada Centre. Vancouver has won two straight and the club is 3-1-0 so far on a seven-game road trip. With the quick start to the swing, the Canucks are now 11-4-0 as the visiting club this season. The Canucks, who enter Saturday two points back of Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division, won for the fifth time in six games with Thursdays impressive victory in Pittsburgh. Vancouver downed the Penguins, 3-0, and outshot the home club by a 31-21 margin. Brad Richardson had two goals and an assist to support Eddie Lacks 21-save shutout effort. Shawn Matthias added a goal and an assist in the Canucks NHL- best 11th road win of the season, while Lack was rarely challenged by a lethargic Penguins team in recording his fifth career shutout and first of 2014-15. We did a good job blocking shots, but Eddie was there for us, said Richardson. He was our best player all night. With the Canucks also playing tomorrow in Ottawa, its unclear if No. 1 Ryan Miller will return to the crease tonight or if Lack will get a second straight start. Miller, a former longtime member of the Buffalo Sabres, boasts a lifetime 32-15-3 record and a 2.47 goals against average against the Maple Leafs. Lack has never faced Toronto. The Canucks are hoping to return to their winninng ways in this series after the Leafs snapped an 11-game losing streak against Vancouver when the clubs last met on Feb.dddddddddddd8 in Toronto. That 3-1 victory was Torontos first in this matchup since another home win on Nov. 24, 2003. Vancouver had won five straight at Air Canada Centre prior to last Februarys loss. Toronto is coming off Thursdays 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils, who handed the Leafs their first loss on a five-game homestand that ends Tuesday against Calgary. The Devils and Leafs were tied at 2-2 before Mike Cammalleri put New Jersey ahead for good with a power-play tally late in the second period. The Devils pushed their cushion to three goals in the third before Phil Kessel notched a power-play marker for Toronto in the final minute of regulation. Jonathan Bernier managed just 21 saves for Toronto, while Mike Santorelli had a goal and an assist in the loss. Plain and simple, I thought we got outworked tonight, said Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. They were physically involved in the game to a much higher level than we were. Toronto had a five-game point streak (4-0-1) snapped, as it lost in regulation for the first time since a humiliating 9-2 home loss against Nashville on Nov. 18. Bernier is 2-0 with a 2.00 GAA in his career against Vancouver, while backup goaltender James Reimer is 0-2 with a lofty 5.26 GAA in this series. Toronto is 9-7-0 at home this season. ' ' '