May 15, 2025:

On this episode of the Scouting the Refs podcast,

  • Was it a kick? Or a deflection? Or both? Stars/Jets gives us a controversial goal that went off Alex Petrovic’s skate, off goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s stick and in. Did the Situation Room make the right call?
  • Official injury updates; two linesmen are out for the playoffs
  • NHL Series Supervisors – who are they and what do they do?
  • Dallas Stars’ Mason Marchment slashes referee Graham Skilliter – and gets away with it
  • A crosscheck to the face results in a $7000 fine to Vegas Golden Knights’ Nic Roy, which is over the $5000 we always hear is the ‘maximum allowable under the CBA’
  • A high stick is legal when it’s a follow-through, but that wasn’t the case for the Winnipeg Jets’ Haydn Fleury.
  • Also, it’s not a penalty when you high stick your team trainer, as Tomas Hertl found out.
  • Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour was furious after a high-sticking penalty to Jordan Staal was really the result of friendly fire, but not eligible for review. 
  • Toronto Maple Leafs’ Max Domi was fined for a late hit on Florida Panthers’ Sasha Barkov, but there was no call and no fine for an attempted elbow by Dmitry Kulikov on Mitch Marner.
  • Plus, what is a fight in the IIHF, and how did one scrum result in three fighting majors at France vs. Slovakia? The answer – and the definition – might surprise you.

 

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The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We’ll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was – or wasn’t – handed out. 

Todd Lewis is a veteran broadcaster covering the NHL and other major league sports. Lewis is a former host on the NHL Network and on NHL Network Radio. He’s also worked for TSN, Sportsnet as a host/anchor and is a producer of other programs. 

Josh Smith is the founder of Scouting the Refs, the leading independent site related to hockey officiating which follows hockey officials across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world, including news, rule changes and interpretations, suspensions, and statistics on officials and penalty calls.