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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. Mr. Fraser: I was watching the Predators vs. Wild game Saturday night and cannot figure out two calls in that game. First of all, Mike Fisher was called for a double minor for hooking. No blood. No injury. Nothing really out of the ordinary other than a minor for hooking. Why was it a double minor? Secondly, the Wilds third goal, while on the power play for the double hooking minor, never crossed the line as far as I can see. Now, at the end you can see Derek Roy pull the puck from Seth Jones shin pad but that doesnt mean the puck crossed the line. I thought Toronto had to see the puck actually cross the line for it to be called a goal. Im so confused! The Preds should have won that game in regulation. Thanks for your insight. Its so fun reading your column. Sincerely, Darin Scott Franklin, TN Darin: The double minor assessed against Mike Fisher resulted from two separate incidents that were deemed to be hooking infractions by the referee(s). A delayed penalty was signaled by referee Justin St. Pierre when Fisher reached with his stick and made light contact between the hands of Nino Niederreiter. The contact did not impede Niederreiters ability to cleanly advance the puck by banking it off the wall to its intended recipient, Wild teammate Ryan Carter. Carter picked up the pass and skated the puck up ice and deep into the Predators end zone. This marginal call (weak) resulted because the referee made the decision to skate toward the opposite side corner away from both Niederreiter and Fisher as they raced for the loose puck. The referee was therefore looking over his shoulder and did not have a clear perspective of the contact and the finish of the play. Had the ref observed the full extent of Fishers action and unimpeded completion of the play by Niederrreiter he should have deemed that no harm - no foul resulted. At the other end of the ice and on the ensuing delay, Fisher clearly hooked Zach Parise to the ice which prevented him from getting to the loose puck. There wasnt any doubt this was a violation of Rule 55 and caused referee Brad Meier to also raise his arm. The two separate hooking calls combined for a double minor assessed against Fisher. A very tight standard was implemented in this game with regard to restraining fouls. A total of eight minor penalties were assessed; all of which were in the restraining category (four for hooking, two for holding, two for interference). Prior to the 2014-15 season, the NHL issued a press release outlining the new rules that were adopted. Video review was expanded and modified to allow broader discretion to Hockey Operations to assist the referees in determining the legitimacy of all potential goals (e.g., to ensure they are good hockey goals). The revised Rule allows Hockey Operations to correct a broader array of situations where video review clearly establishes that a goal or no goal call on the ice has been made in error. Prior to this broader discretion being extended, the situation room personnel required clear visual evidence of the puck crossing the line or being in the net. If a body or hand obstructed the view of the puck, even though it might be logical to deduce that the puck was across the line, an inconclusive verdict was to be rendered from Video Review. All the replays shown during the game broadcast and repeated on the NHL Situation Room Blog do not clearly show the black disc across the line. It was only upon completion of the play that Derek Roy reached across the goal line with his glove and appeared to drag the puck from underneath Seth Jones, who was located inside the net at that point. Unless the Situation Room had an enhanced camera shot along the goal line of the puck resting under Jones pad, it would only seem logical that they deduced the puck was across the line and awarded the goal after Roy reached in and dragged the disk out under the cover of his glove. I have awarded goals (prior to video replay) when I witnessed a goalie had clearly caught the puck across the goal line or made a save with his pad that was inside the net. In cases such as this it was only logical to determine that since the puck was inside the goalies trapper or hit the pad inside the net a goal had resulted. Im okay with the Situation Room utilizing common sense and logic to deduce that a puck had entered the net during the process of play. We saw several examples over the last few seasons where their decision on apparent legitimate goals was restricted because the puck was covered and not visible to them inside the net. My one caution or concern however is when a scrum in the crease area takes place similar to this play. There was considerable pushing, jostling and active stick movement that took place inside the crease, some of which occurred after the play was ruled dead by the referee. Once players separated, it was only at that point that Roy made a move with his glove to locate the puck and drag it backward. Since the goalie or a player cannot be pushed into the net with the puck sound judgment must be applied with common sense logic to determine when the puck actually crossed the goal line. The Situation Room must have determined it was, as they say, a good hockey goal. Bobby Cox Jersey . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. Bob Uecker Jersey .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/chi...-braves-jersey/. -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. Deion Sanders Jersey .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. Dale Murphy Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Islanders have lost ground in the NHL playoff race during a five-game slide and the club may have more bad news coming down the pike. But first, the struggling club hopes to avoid a sixth consecutive setback on Tuesday when it visits the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Watch the Islanders vs. Capitals live tonight on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. In addition to posting an 0-4-1 record during its current slide, the Isles are also having difficulty convincing winger Thomas Vanek to stay with the club and New York may wind up trading the Austrian winger. According to a report Monday in Newsday, Vanek, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, has turned down a "substantial contract offer" from the Isles. The report also says New York general manager Garth Snow is fielding offers from teams looking to acquire the 30-year-old forward. Vanek was acquired from Buffalo in a trade on Oct. 27 and he has 15 goals and 38 points in 41 games with the Islanders after becoming part of a formidable top line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. If Vanek is dealt by the Isles, it will turn out to be a costly rental for the club. New York sent winger Matt Moulson to the Sabres along with a first-round pick in this summers draft as well as a second-rounder in 2015 to land Vanek. The NHL trade deadline for this season is March 5. The Islanders went 10-3-0 from Dec. 29-Jan. 21 before losing five in a row. The clubs last two losses came against the rival New York Rangers, who posted a 2-1 regulation win over the Isles in last Wednesdays outdoor game at Yankee Stadium before notching a 4-1 home win Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Derick Brassard and Brad Richards scored less than three minutes apart in the third period to support a strong effort from Henrik Lundqvist in the Rangers win over the Isles at MSG. Okposo had the lone score for the struggling Islanders, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 33-of-36 chances in defeat. "We just looked like we ran out of gas," Tavares said. "We just didnt seem to have that extra gear when we needed it." With 50 points, the Isles are currently 13th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and 12 points out of a playoff spot. Including tonights tilt, New York has three games left before the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics.dddddddddddd After visiting Washington on Tuesday, the Isles will host Calgary and Colorado on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. After losing seven in a row from Jan. 12-24, Washington has recorded three wins over its last five games and is 3-1-1 during that stretch. The Capitals split a home-and-home series with Detroit over the weekend, losing Fridays road portion against the Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout before taking Sundays wild 6-5 overtime decision at the Verizon Center. Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal 2:37 into overtime to lift the Capitals to Sundays entertaining matinee battle in D.C. Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith was called for tripping at the 1:26 mark of the extra session. The Capitals moved the puck around and John Carlson fed Ovechkin for a one-timer from the left circle. Ovechkin has scored seven times over his last nine games and he is leading the NHL with 39 goals. His next goal will give Ovechkin 40 or more markers in a season for the sixth time in his career and for the first time since he posted 50 in 2009-10. Joel Ward registered two goals and one assist on Sunday and Jason Chimera added a goal and two helpers for the Capitals, who overcame blowing a trio of two-goal leads to win for the third time in their last 12 games. "We came out great and they never gave up; they are a really good hockey team," said Washington head coach Adam Oates. Michal Neuvirth picked up the win despite surrendering five goals on 30 shots. The Capitals expect to be without defenseman Mike Green for a third straight game after he suffered a concussion last week against Columbus. Green tried to practice on Monday, but he left for the dressing room after 10 minutes. Washington forwards Mikhail Grabovski (sprained left ankle), Brooks Laich (groin), Eric Fehr (lower body) and Aaron Volpatti (upper body) are also questionable for tonights contest. The Caps, who are three points out of a playoff spot in the East, are 2-0 against the Islanders this season and have won three straight and five of the past seven games in this series. Washington is 8-2-1 in the past 11 encounters in D.C. ' ' '