Season 7, Episode 7
October 31, 2025

 

Do you suffer from Premature Substitution?  The Pittsburgh Penguins do, at least this week.

 

 

Also on the latest #RefsPodcast:

  • New official debuts as Shawn Oliver, Jeremy Faucher, and Dylan Blujus hit the ice for the first time in the NHL
  • Injury updates with Scott Cherrey, Francois St. Laurent, Steve Kozari, Chris Rooney, Ryan Daisy, and Bryan Pancich still sidelined
  • Congratulations to referee Chris Lee on 1500 games!
  • Major penalty to Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier for a headshot on the Caps’ Declan Chisholm. Was it the right call?
  • Tampa Bay Lightning’s Emil Lilleberg puts the puck into the net off referee Frederick L’Ecuyer. Rule 78.5 says that one doesn’t count.
  • Chaos at Penguins vs. Flyers. Who saw that coming? We’ve got disallowed goals, Sidney Crosby and Trevor Zegras rules ineligible for the shootout, and a premature substitution – which is, what, exactly?
  • Was it a slew foot? Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Jeremy Lauzon sweeps the leg on Carolina Hurricanes winger Nik Ehlers.
  • Chicago’s Colton Dach deflects in an empty-netter on a delayed penalty… which doesn’t count. Rule 78.5 strikes again, but this time it’s section 11.
  • Minnesota Wild’s Matt Boldy is wrongfully convicted of a high sticking penalty after the pick catches Winnipeg’s Dylan DeMelo up high. Coach John Hynes loses his mind, Boldly heads to the box… and, later, ref Gord Dwyer apologies. More on the call and why they couldn’t review it.
  • Goaltender interference at Kings vs. Wings, as Kevin Fiala finds his way into the blue paint.
  • Plus, the Situation Room gets some well-deserved upgrades based on some interesting inspiration.

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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 managing editor 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.