Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Air Max 95 Outlet .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. Air Force 1 False . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79. Air Max 270 False . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/ . He was signed to help with depth to the receiving corps because of the loss of Shamawd Chambers to the 6-game injured list. LAS VEGAS -- Canelo Alvarez gets a pass, if only because everyone who fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. gets a pass. Lose a second fight to someone not named Mayweather, though, and the red-haired Mexicans star could begin to fade. "I learned a lot from fighting Floyd, but Im ready to get back in the ring to maintain the path that I was on before," Alvarez said. "This is what I love to do." The path Alvarez was on took a detour in September when Mayweather dominated him over 12 rounds, handing Alvarez his first loss. He gets a totally different type of opponent Saturday night, taking on slugger Alfredo Angulo in a junior middleweight fight that likely wont be wanting for action. The story line against Mayweather was whether a young and strong champion could solve a puzzle no other boxer had been able to. The story line against Angulo will be whether Alvarez can come back from the loss and establish himself again as one of the stars of the sport. "What happened in September is in the past," Alvarez insisted. "Im fully concentrated on this fight." Alvarez didnt pick a walkover for his comeback fight, the first of what he hopes to be three bouts this year. Angulo is a rugged and hard-hitting contender who may come into the ring as a big underdog but will have more than just a punchers chance. Angulo was stopped in his last fight by Erislandy Lara after his left eye swelled shut in the 10th round. But he had knocked Lara down twice earlier and was holding his own before suddenly turning his back to Lara in a sign he couldnt go on. "Im ready to chase him or fight him like a true Mexican warrior," Angulo said. "I plan to test him like hes never been tested before. I dont think anyone has ever hit Canelo as hard as Im going to hit him." The fight is part of a pay-per-view card on Showtime that was supposed to include a fight between IBF light middleweight champion Carlos Molina and challenger Jermall Charlo. That fight was cancelled Friday, though, while Molina remained in a Las Veegas jail on a 2007 felony warrant for failing to register as a sex offender. Vans Saldi. Promoters elevated a lightweight fight between Ricardo Alvarez, brother of Canelo Alvarez, and Sergio Thompson to the televised spot instead. Alvarez weighed in at 155 pounds Friday, the contract limit, to 154 1/2 for Angulo. Angulo (22-3, 18 knockouts) has had his own issues with jail, spending eight months at a detention facility in California after turning himself in for being in the U.S. on an expired visa. The native of Mexico says he has since cleared up his immigration issues, and devoted himself to his boxing career at the age of 31. "There were a couple times when I was in the immigration detention centre that I wanted to quit," Angulo said. "But my team of lawyers always motivated me, wouldnt let me stay down for too long and kept telling me that justice would prevail and that I shouldnt give up. I always dreamed of being a headliner on a major card, and here it is. I am so ready for Saturday." Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 knockouts) was overmatched in his fight against Mayweather, losing almost every round and never being able to figure out how to get inside Mayweathers defence. He vowed to use his first defeat as a learning experience, though, and wants to regain the stature that has made him a reliable pay-per-view attraction in recent fights. To do that he must win -- and win impressively -- against a fighter who might have more guts than talent. "Angulo presents a difficult challenge because hes a fighter who can punch and take a great punch," Alvarez said. "I know I have to prepare and establish my game plan early. But you know how it can be with game plans. Sometimes, once a fight starts, you have to do what you have to do to win." Angulo said that is just one of the reasons the fight should be an entertaining one, no matter how long it lasts. "Style-wise, this is a great matchup for the fans and both of us," he said. " Fans are going to get a great fight." ' ' '