Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Fake Rangers Jerseys .ca. Hey Kerry, Undoubtedly you will receive a lot of emails regarding this game. I have a question regarding the position of the linesman on the missed offside call that led to the Avs tying the game late in the third period against the Wild on Friday. Why is the linesman positioned outside the blue line? Shouldnt he be inside the line so that his body or skates arent inadvertently the cause of an offside for the attacking team? If he were in position inside the line, he surely wouldnt have to lean away from the line as he does in the photograph all over the media. I would like to know your thoughts. Thanks. DJ Waldron DJ, I want to establish first and foremost that Pierre Racicot is universally accepted as one of the top linesman in the NHL. Racicots high level of skill and competency has been recognized with seven consecutive selections to work the Stanley Cup Final. I worked many games with Pierre and can tell you firsthand that he has earned much deserved respect from players and coaches throughout the League. No matter how good a player or official is, mistakes are sometimes made. The great officials minimize their mistakes and Racicot clearly falls into that category. This is one of the very few times that this linesman got the call wrong. Let me explain why that happened. As you point out DJ, linesman Racicots initial decision to set up outside the blue line created an obstructed view of the inside edge of the line once Nathan MacKinnon carried the puck a mere couple of feet in front of the linesman. From this less than perfect position, and with Paul Stastny in full stride and about to cross the line to the right of MacKinnon, Racicot made the quick, but unfortunate, decision to alter his upper body posture away from the line. This move, made in a millisecond of time, was initiated by the linesman in an effort to gain an angle that might allow him to see both the puck and Stastny crossing the inside edge of the blue line. What this new angle created for the linesman, however, was a sightline toward the middle of the ice that became obstructed by the body of MacKinnon. Offside resulted in the blink of an eye as Stastnys lead skate (and with his back skate in the air not in contact with the line or outside the attacking zone) crossed inches ahead of the puck and resulted in a rare missed call by Racicot. I had the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented linesmen during the course of my career; Pierre Racicot included. As I was writing this column I spoke with HHOF member and former colleague Ray Scapinello to provide us with some technical insight on a play of this nature. Scamp said that he learned from fellow Hall-of-Fame members John DAmico and Matt Pavelich that, as a rule of thumb, it was imperative for the linesman to be set inside the blue line prior to players and the puck crossing the line. Im sure it might have happened through unavoidable circumstance but I cant ever remember Scapinello making a decision on an off-side from the neutral zone. On the contrary, I have vivid memories of Scamp positioned inside the zone, down on one knee and looking along the inside edge of the blue line to render his accurate decision on a close call. Once the play was deemed on-side, the little fellow jumped up and quickly moved his skates outside the blue line to avoid being hit with the puck and preventing it from exiting the zone. Ray stressed the importance of the linesmen seeing the attack develop, moving quickly to set up inside the blue line and waiting to make the call as the puck and players cross the line. Scamp said this, especially with the red line no longer in play for the off-side pass rule and the linesmen must be dialed in for potential stretch passes. When set up inside the blue line, Ray said it didnt matter if all five attacking players crossed the line at the same time because his view would not be obstructed. The rare missed offside call by Racicot was an anomaly for this highly skilled professional linesman. He will learn from this experience and gain an unobstructed sightline from a position inside the blue line whenever possible. If, in the future, there is a need to alter his upper body posture/sightline along the line, my guess is Pierre will lean toward the inside edge instead of away from it. This play not only demonstrates the speed of the game but also that human error can and will occur, no matter good the player or official is. This play aside, the NHL Officiating Department could certainly use Hockey Hall of Fame legendary linesman Ray Scapinello to lead and coach the current crop of NHL linesmen, no matter how proficient they might be. Scamp learned from the very best in his day; the present group of linesman should be afforded the same privilege. Frank Howard Jersey . Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators. Jose Trevino Jersey . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/192h-taylor-hearn-jersey-rangers.html . Those cheers seemed more special this time because the captains run on Broadway could soon be over. The adoration surely sounded much nicer to Callahan than all the recent trade talk. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. After that the game belonged to the upstart Americans. Brett Thompson scored a try in the 68th minute and Chris Wyles got a successful conversion to lead the United States to a 38-35 comeback win over Canada on Saturday in a Pacific Nations Cup mens rugby match at Bonney Field. It was the first time the U.S. had beaten Canada since 2009. Canada, which led by 10 at halftime, tried in desperation to get a try in the last two minutes of the contest, but the U.S. defence met them at every turn. "I think we were doing well up until then, but then we started playing poorly," said Canadas coach Kiernan Crowley. "We didnt make any tackles and you cant afford to do that and we cant afford to give away the amount of penalties that we gave away. It was just a pretty poor performance by us." Harry Jones led Canada with two tries, while Aaron Carpenter, James Pritchard and Ciaran Hearn each scored one. Pritchard added four conversions. Blaine Scully led the Americans with two tries. Danny Barrett, Wyles and Thompson scored the others. The U.S. made three conversions and Wyles had four off of penalties. The U.S. jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first half with a penalty kick from Wyles, and he added another moments later to make it 6-0 when Canadian scrum half Phil Mack was issued a yellow card. But Canada came back to lead 7-6 on a try from Jones and a coonversion from Pritchard. Jeff Russell Jersey. Canada scored twice before the end of the first half and led with a 28-18 margin. Carpenter drove over the line with a powerful pick-and-go to bring the game to 18-14 before Pritchard dove on a DTH van der Merwe chip kick for Canadas second score before halftime. "They were scoring off our mistakes," said U.S. centre Folau Niua. "They attacked us really well on turnovers. But what I like is that we didnt panic. Our captain gave us a few words and that was to play together." Canada picked up where it left off, striking early on Jones second try of the night for a 35-18 lead at the 43rd minute of the second half. The Americans mounted their comeback by scoring the next 10 points before retaking the lead. Both teams played with intensity around the goal-line in the last two minutes of the match. But it was the U.S. defence that conquered the moment, which ended with Scully recovering a turnover and Niua kicking the ball out of play to end Canadas effort. "We werent clinical enough, its as simple as that," said Pritchard. "We gave away too much ball, werent strong in the tackle areas and our tackling was weak. There was a second-place finish in the PNC up-for-grabs and there were times throughout the game that we could have put them away and in front of their home crowd they fought back." Attendance at Bonney Field was sold out at 7,804 spectators. ' ' '