Heading into the Stanley Cup Final this week on the #RefsPodcast, with a look at the officials selected to work the championship series between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. Expect things to tighten up as penalty minutes are down and power plays are at a premium late in the playoffs.

Did the officials miss a penalty on Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for closing his hand on the puck in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars?

A slew of rule changes are coming to college hockey, with the NCAA making tweaks to head contact and hits from behind. They're also changing high-sticks on played pucks and goals to shoulder height; we'll see how that impacts deflections around the crease. They've also decided to stop giving power plays to teams who score on a delayed penalty, now aligning with the NHL rulebook.

We've got hardware handed out, with officiating awards in the ECHL, OHL, and WHL -- congrats to Chuck Schamel, Dustin McCrank, and Jeff Ingram -- so why hasn't the NHL jumped on board to recognize their officials?

Also, The Hockey Guy -- or, perhaps, The Referee Guy -- gives his take on an NHL official's AMA.

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Visit scoutingtherefs.com and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Threads. Email us your questions - heyref@scoutingtherefs.com #RefsPodcast

Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS! #RefsPodcast

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the #RefsPodcast, we discuss a pair of major penalties that were downgraded after officials' review. The Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov had a major penalty reduced to a minor for hit on Rangers’ Alex Wennberg and the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba saw his elbowing major on Florida’s Evan Rodrigues dropped to a minor… neither with any explanation as to why the refs felt neither play deserved a major penalty. Remember, those penalty reviews are handled by the refs – not the Situation Room. Player Safety appeared to disagree on the Trouba call, handing out a $5000 fine for the elbow.

When teams take two penalties on the same play - as Trouba did - should teams be given the option to choose between a four-minute 5-on-4 or a two-minute 5-on-3? What about giving teams the option to pick between a power play and a penalty shot?

Down goes Marchment! The refs thought Mason Marchment embellished a cross-check from the Edmonton Oilers’ Zach Hyman.

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger’s stick made a perfectly legal save on its own, but that’s not always the case. .

Should the Panthers have been awarded a penalty shot after New York’s Blake Wheeler hooked Alexander Barkov? Do they even CALL penalty shots in overtime?

Florida’s Sam Reinhart gets away with punching New York’s Jacob Trouba at the whistle; no call on the play with Reinhart scoring the overtime winner… should he have been in the box?

Also, the Rangers’ Chris Kreider narrowly avoided a misconduct penalty for throwing Matthew Tkachuk’s mouthguard out of play… not that the officials were going to call that one.

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Visit scoutingtherefs.com and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Threads. Email us your questions - heyref@scoutingtherefs.com #RefsPodcast

Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS! #RefsPodcast

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the #RefsPodcast, we ask: Where's Wes McCauley? Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid takes an overtime high-sticking penalty that was confirmed via review... but was another penalty missed? Boston Bruins forward Charlie Coyle gives a little 'How do you do' to Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad's undercarriage, with no penalty or fine.

Goaltender interference (surprise!) at Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers... and again at Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche... and once more at New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers. Breaking down those plays, the rules, and the maddening 'explanations' we get from the officials and the NHL's Situation Room.

Also, we look at Matt Duchene's real impact - and legacy - in the National Hockey League... and more on McCauley's whereabouts and why he's missing his first conference final in over 10 seasons.

Visit scoutingtherefs.com and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Threads. Email us your questions - heyref@scoutingtherefs.com #RefsPodcast

Questions? Comments? Just looking to vent? Call the RefLine and leave us a message at 585-484-REFS! #RefsPodcast

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.