On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• Sad to hear of the passing of longtime NHL linesman Will Norris and AHL linesman Paul Simeon
• Sabres’ Kulich misses the net, hits referee Peter MacDougall
• Liam Maaskant makes his NHL debut on the last day of the regular season
• KHL junior player suspended 7 games for elbowing a ref in the head
• Two game ban for Devils’ Paul Cotter
• No supplemental discipline to Yakov Trenin for his ice-level punch on Derek Forbort
• Oilers’ Darnell Nurse suspended 1 game by Player Safety for cross-checking LA Kings’ Quinton Byfield
• Florida Panthers’ Jesse Puljujarvi banned for 2 games for a headshot on Tampa Bay Lightning’s Mitchell Chaffee
• Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dmitri Voronkov returns to the ice after his penalty is lost in translation
• Possibly the strangest - and potentially rule-breaking - shootout at Chicago Blackhawks vs. Montreal Canadiens.
• Winnipeg Jets winger Nik Ehlers is injured in a collision with linesman James Tobias
• Carolina’s Tyson Jost has a penalty called for an illegal faceoff, only to have it rescinded after the refs get some ‘feedback’ from coach Rod Brind’Amour

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

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.

On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• IIHF Women's World Championship Officials
• Frozen Four Refs and Lineys - Congrats to the Hockey East crew of Jeremy Tufts, Geoff Miller, Kevin Briganti, and Nick Briganti, as well as NCHC officials Ryan Hersey, Nathan Wieler, Tyler Liffrig, and Erik Contino who worked the semis
• Swiss League issues a four-game ban to Brendan Lemieux for punching a linesman
• The AHL dishes out a 10-game suspension to Bridgeport Islanders' Adam Beckman for hitting referee Mike Dietrich into the boards
• Referee Alex Lepkowski makes his NHL debut at Chicago Blackhawks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Los Angeles Kings' Quinton Byfield scores an amazing goal against the Seattle Kraken -- but he should've been called for a minor penalty
• More stick shenanigans at Kings/Ducks after Anaheim challenged - and lost the challenge - on a high stick prior to a Laferriere goal.
• St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington scrapped with Corey Perry, throwing some punches with his catching glove -- but not his blocker, which makes a difference in the rulebook.
• Congrats to linesman Brad Kovachik on 1900 NHL games, 13th all-time among lineys and #1 among active officials. Steve Barton and Kelly Sutherland both recently hit 1600-game milestones.

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

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.

On this week's #RefsPodcast:

• Referee Ghislain Hebert and linesman Derek Nansen hanging up the skates… but not before getting in some late hits, with Nansen laying out Buffalo Sabres’ Peyton Krebs
• Minnesota Wild goaltender Jonas Gustavsson stops the puck on his back and - after review - keeps it from going over the line.
• Florida Panthers’ AJ Greer scores off his skate against the Montreal Canadiens but the goal is immediately waved off… then, after a brief discussion, allowed… then, after video review, called back for a distinct kicking motion.
• In the PWHL, Montreal’s Kati Tabin picks up a game misconduct for an illegal check to the head, but avoids a suspension
• Referee Frederick L’Ecuyer - who previously brought you “all the other guys gonna have a misconduct” - starts calling out players by name on the penalty announcement
• Carolina Hurricanes’ Jalen Chatfield drops the gloves then goes MMA-style with a judo takedown on Washington Capitals’ Connor McMichael - with no fine or suspension on the play.
• Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe is awarded a goal after getting tripped up and crashing into the Utah goaltender
• Over in the Swiss League, former NHLer Brendan Lemieux is suspended for accidentally punching linesman Dominik Altmann… and, no, you can’t do that.
• Anaheim Ducks’ Frank Vatrano holds - then throws - the stick of Calgary Flames’ Blake Coleman.
• and Congrats to QMJHL linesman Sylvain Losier, who set a league record with 240 playoff games!

Plenty of action on this week’s #RefsPodcast!

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

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.