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, Ill keep this short and sweet as Im sure Toronto fans will be flooding your inbox, but last night Dion Phaneuf was given a tripping penalty on a player who was offside. Why was he penalized? The opponent was offside and the whistle would/should have been blown just before the trip. Thanks,John --- Phaneuf for tripping - why was this a penalty? Was it because the trip happened before the linesman blew the whistle dead? I thought that the linesman blew the whistle and the trip happened after the whistle. Randy Carlyle seemed to accept the refs explanation. Regards,Dallas --- Watched the Leafs beat Phoenix - wondering about Dions penalty for tripping after the play was called offside? How is this even possible to get an in-game penalty outside of the game play? If anything, shouldnt it have been called unsportsmanlike conduct, which he would have gotten had he gone up to someone and tripped them outside of game play? Justin John, Dallas and Justin:Infractions that occur simultaneously with or after a stoppage are typically penalized as though play was actually in progress. I could offer many examples where penalties have been assessed during a stoppage in play including just prior to a puck drop when players are lined up for a faceoff. The rules are applied whether the game clock is running or not. However, rule 57 (tripping) is very specific in stating, "Accidental trips which occur simultaneously with a completed play will not be penalized. Accidental trips occurring simultaneously with or after a stoppage of play will not be penalized." The optimum word in the rule is "accidental." This is intended to allow the referee to exercise common sense and sound judgment in determining that a trip occurring simultaneously with or after a stoppage would have absolutely no bearing on the play. If however, a tripping infraction in the opinion of the referee caused an attacking player from cleanly entering the zone and therefore resulted in an offside at the blue line then the trip would in fact have a bearing on the play and a penalty would be assessed. It was a bang-bang play last night when Mike Ribeiro pulled the puck back and made a shift just ahead of the blue line to avoid a Dion Phaneuf check. Ribeiros move delayed the puck from crossing the line and caused David Moss to jump offside on the right wing. Phaneuf then stuck his stick in the feet of Ribeiro causing the Coyote to trip after the offside infraction had been committed and but a split second before the linesmans whistle sounded. As a result, there should have been no penalty assessed to Dion Phaneuf on the play. The wide camera shot demonstrates that both referees immediately reacted to the trip by raising their arms. The referee in the neutral zone can be seen giving a wash-out signal because once the linesman blew his whistle he realized the play was offside at the blue line. The other referee that made the call from deep inside the Leafs end zone and on the opposite side to where trip had occurred did not pull back on his first reaction to the trip and assessed the penalty. From his position, the ref inside the zone must have deemed that the trip caused the offside and the blue line and therefore should be penalized. I had a similar play one game in Los Angeles when Terry Murray was coaching the Kings. A King forward carried the puck across the attacking blue line. While the referee doesnt usually pay close attention when an attacking team crosses the blue line I had a quick sense that this entry looked offside but no whistle resulted. The attacker continued to carry the puck a good fifteen feet inside the zone when a defender tripped the King puck carrier. I raised my arm and as I blew my whistle I heard the sound of the linesmans whistle being blown simultaneously with mine. I approached the linesman and asked what had happened. He said the play was offside and he was slow in blowing the whistle; 15 feet slow! There was no way that I was going to penalize a team for a trip that had no bearing on the play as a result of an offside that should have been blown down well in advance of the trip. Problem was Terry Murray, the players on both teams and close to 20,000 people saw me raise my arm to call the obvious trip! I communicated my decision and reasons not to assess the penalty to Murray. In spite of Terrys protest that I couldnt take away a penalty that everyone in the building saw me call my final decision stood. My last comment to Terry at the Kings bench was that in the NFL it would be announced as an "errant flag". On this night in the Staples Center he could consider it as an "errant arm"! I skated over to the penalty box, clicked on my microphone and make the official announcement, "There was no penalty on the play as a result of the offside at the blue line." The linesman quickly dropped the puck in the neutral zone and it was "game on." Common sense and sound judgment prevailed. Omar Vizquel White Sox Jersey . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. Seby Zavala Jersey .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. 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"It puts a strain on everybody else and it puts a strain on the other guys to make up some of the minutes that those two play and it gives another opportunity for other people to play higher in your lineup," said head coach Randy Carlyle, a day after the team returned from a week-long western Canadian road trip, shut out by the Canucks on Saturday night. Carlyle couldnt say for certain when either of his top two centres would be available to return from injury. Dave Bolland had successful surgery in Vancouver over the weekend and was due to fly back to Toronto on Monday. The 27-year-old suffered a lacerated tendon against the Canucks on Saturday, his left ankle sliced in scary fashion by the left skate of Zack Kassian. "Its too early to say," said Carlyle of a timeframe for Bolland, who had six goals and 10 points in his first 15 games as a Leaf. "They can say that its five months and then we hope its two. We dont really know until the healing process starts and they do an assessment and then well get more tightened in on the timeframe for you." Neither could he say with any certainty when Tyler Bozak would return. Leading Toronto forwards in ice-time this season (21 minutes per game), the 27-year-old has been out the past four games with a hamstring injury. The earliest he can return from long-term IR is Nov. 21. "Hes still a ways away," said Carlyle, adding that Bozak had not been working out nor riding the bike. The injured duo cant be replaced. Outside of Jay McClement, no two forwards are relied on by Carlyle in more situations than Bolland and Bozak (power play, penalty kill, opposing top lines). But in their absence, the Leafs must plug holes and move forward collectively. And they can start with 24-year-old James van Riemsdyk. For the first time since college, van Riemsdyk may just line up at centre (Leaf management is surely scouring for additional options), slotting in at Mondays practice alongside Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. "Hes played there before so it doesnt take rocket science to go in that direction," Carlyle said. A winger growing up and right on through the ranks of the U.S. National Development Program, van Riemsdyk last played centre for two seasons at the University of New Hampshire in 2009. He made that move oddly enough because Trevor Smith – having just completed his second season with the Wildcats and now a teammate in Toronto – decided to leave college hockey and take a shot at the pros. Already averaging upwards of 20 minutes nightly – a regular contributor on both special teams units – van Riemsdyk will be asked to continue his already impressive production at a position hes unfamiliar with in the NHL; he moved back to his natural wing position upon landing with the Flyers. "Its completely different – well not completely different, but there is a lot of differences," said van Riemsdyk of the adjustment, noting the need for additional work on the draw. "Its more a timing thing. Youve got to be used to the feel of it – its just a different feel. Whereas a wing, you play more in straight lines, you get to certain areas and youre going to be fine. Centre, its a lot more reading and reacting to different situations on the ice; reacting to how theyre forechecking and different things like that so you have to know how to reead the different plays a little bit more.dddddddddddd" The Leafs briefly considered moving van Riemsdyk to centre prior to last season – he watched some video – but were never pressed into a situation where they had to try it. Increased contributions and opportunity also lie elsewhere. Lining up in the two-hole behind van Riemsdyk in all likelihood, the Leafs will also count on getting more from Nazem Kadri, who slid onto a line with David Clarkson and Mason Raymond at Mondays practice. The 23-year-old does have 13 points already this year, but is likely to see more challenging matchups on a consistent basis (he matched up with Evgeni Malkin successfully last week) with Bolland and Bozak both out. McClement is already logging huge minutes (nearly 17 per game, second highest of his NHL career), but he too, will be asked to do more in the absence of Bolland and Bozak, specifically in the face-off circle. The injured centres have combined to take 65 per cent of team face-offs this season. McClement has already seen his duties rise in this regard with Bozak out since Oct. 26; the 30-year-old took 28 face-offs against Vancouver, 28 against Calgary and 21 against Edmonton. An opportunity additionally lies in wait for Clarkson, who returned from a 10-game suspension on Oct. 25, totaling just a single assist in his first five games. All but absent from the power play so far – he didnt see a second in games against the Oilers and Flames – the 29-year-old should see increased opportunity on the man advantage, a position he held comfortably with the Devils (14 power play goals the past two seasons). A second line contributor for much of the past two seasons, Lupul too, should see his ice-time rise, riding on the top unit for the first time since 2011-2012, when he totaled 25 goals and 67 points in 66 games. Predictably, Carlyle expects more from the group as a whole. Despite boasting a sturdy 10-5-0 record (tied for first in the division), the Leafs have yet to appear at their best consistently this season; yielding nearly 37 shots against per night – second worst in the league – while totaling the most minor penalties to date. Only the superb play of their two goaltenders – James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier both rank amongst the league leaders in save percentage – terrific special teams and incredibly accurate shooting has kept the group afloat and swimming with some success (adversity tested previously due to the Clarkson suspension and other injuries to a slew of players). As Carlyle noted, "Injuries are a part of the life of an NHL hockey club. Were living our fair share of them and its just the next one along the way." No excuses can and will be made, especially in light of what the plucky Ottawa Senators accomplished last season. Led by head coach Paul MacLean, the eventual Jack Adams winner, Ottawa survived the absence of its top defender (Erik Karlsson), top centre (Jason Spezza) and top goaltender (Craig Anderson) and still managed to make the playoffs. And so, when asked how his team could help van Riemsdyk adjust to the centre ice position, Carlyle pointed not to an individual, but to the team at large and the coaching staff additionally. "Thats what really were trying to focus on is, were really not giving ourselves the best chance [to win]," he said. "Some of the things that we have been doing have crept into our game and theyve become more the norm than abnormal. And thats our job as a coaching staff to eliminate those things." "Whatever we need me to do to help the team win games, Im fine with," van Riemsdyk said. ' ' '