Tonight at 7:05pm et a referee will drop the puck to kick off the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Playoffs. [url=http://www.cowboysfootballg

Tonight at 7:05pm et a referee will drop the puck to kick off the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Trysten Hill Cowboys Jersey . The first round is always the toughest brand of hockey and the most difficult for the Officials to work effectively. Finishing on top of a division does not always guarantee advancement beyond the first playoff round as we have seen through several upsets in recent years. This years matchups will guarantee that some legitimate Cup contenders will be eliminated with a one and done series appearance. The margin for victory between all the teams is very slim and mistakes made by players and officials are magnified at this time of year. Simply put, mistakes can be the difference between a team and an official from going on in the playoffs or going home! Last night I joined James Duthie for a brief segment in the playoff preview show shot in Studio 9 at TSN where I will be monitoring games and officials calls on a nightly basis throughout the first round. James asked me what I will be looking for from the Officials the moment the playoffs begin. My response was for strict adherence to the letter of the law. The rules do not change during the playoffs and neither should the expected standard of enforcement! The referees have often been accused of putting their whistles away during the playoffs. Far too many times we have seen the score and time of a game factored into the refs judgment as to what constitutes an obvious penalty. I cited a game between the NY Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens from the final weekend of the regular season as an example of what we should hope from the referees throughout this postseason. In that game, referee Gord Dwyer awarded a penalty shot to Brian Gionta in overtime when the Habs captain was tripped from behind at the Rangers blue line by Raphael Diaz. Gionta was chasing a loose puck at the time he was fouled and therefore did not have possession and control of the puck. This aspect of the play could have offered the referee an out to take an easier path and simply assess a minor penalty for tripping. Instead, referee Dwyer made the correct judgment as stipulated in rule 24.8 (iii) that Brian Gionta would have obtained possession and control of the puck and was denied a reasonable chance to score. The game ended when Brian Gionta scored on the ensuing penalty shot awarded by the referee. Kudos to referee Dwyer for making this perceived tough call (video link). In reality the more difficult position a referee will place himself in is if he attempts to manage the game by letting an obvious infraction go uncalled. This often sets a chain of events in motion that is difficult for the ref to recover from. The subsequent infraction committed by the other team is usually worse than the previous one he let go. By applying a sense of fairness, the official feels helpless to call that next penalty and the standard becomes lost. The best deterrent for a player to avoid committing an infraction is the fear that he will be placing his team at a disadvantage by incurring a penalty. When that fear factor no longer exists as a result of the refs whistle being put away the game can deteriorate and the integrity of the outcome placed in jeopardy. Anarchy can result until an automatic penalty is called such as puck over the glass or too many men on the ice and a semblance of order is restored! This negative influence on a game can be avoided it the referees call the obvious infractions that are committed regardless of the score or time in a game. Whenever the officials make the tough but correct call they must receive the support of the Officiating Department heads. Management needs to demonstrate their courage by publicly backing the officials when they make the right call at a crucial time in the game. A season long subjective performance evaluation has been tabulated by the Officiating and Hockey Operations Department on each referee and linesman to determine selection to the playoffs. Congratulations and best of luck to the following officials that have been selected to the first round: Referees Francis Charron, Paul Devorski, Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt, Dave Jackson, Mark Joannette, Steve Kozari, Chris Lee, Wes McCauley, Brad Meier, Dean Morton, Dan OHalloran, Dan ORourke, Chris Rooney, Tim Peel, Kevin Pollock, Francois St.-Laurent, Justin St.Pierre, Kelly Sutherland, Brad Watson Linesmen Derek Amell, Steve Barton, David Brisebois, Lonnie Cameron, Scott Cherry, Michel Cormier, Greg Devorski, Scott Driscoll, Darren Gibbs, Shane Heyer, Brad Kovachik, Matt MacPherson, Steve Miller, Brian Murphy, Jonny Murray, Derek Nansen, Brian Pancich, Pierre Racicot, Jay Sharrers, Mark Shewchyk The hockey world will be watching closely as each of you display the courage and good judgment necessary to get the job done. Tony Dorsett Cowboys Jersey . Bilbaos first victory in four rounds lifted it four points clear of Real Sociedad and kept it in command of Spains last Champions League berth for next season. In contrast, Betis was left 11 points from safety after a dismal performance that at times bordered on self-destruction amid some questionable refereeing decisions. Trysten Hill Womens Jersey . Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris, city natives, handled the catering for teammates that begged them for the tasty postgame feast. http://www.cowboysfootballgearshop.com/troy-aikman-jersey/ . Rookie Christian Vazquez got his first three major league hits and drove in three runs, while David Ortiz had three RBIs to break open the game in the sixth inning and lead Boston over the Houston Astros 8-3.ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Anaheim Ducks have achieved the best record in the NHL by winning close games and wearing down their opponents along the way. The Nashville Predators found that out the hard way in their first meeting of the season.Defenceman Francois Beauchemin scored the tying goal with 2:17 left in regulation and Ryan Kesler got the deciding goal in the shootout, giving the Ducks a 4-3 victory Sunday night after they outshot the Predators 14-3 in the third period. Seventeen of Anaheims last 19 victories have been by one-goal margins, including four in overtime and four by shootouts.Its not the way we draw it up, the Ducks Corey Perry said. Theyre a heck of a hockey team. They can skate, they can make plays, and it was a battle out there tonight. They play really hard and battle for every inch.Perry and Matt Beleskey also had goals in regulation for the Ducks, who have a league-best 58 points, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves in a matchup of division leaders.Good teams know how to win those one-goal games, Kesler said. Thats how they are in the playoffs. Playoffs are one-goal games. So if we know how to win them now, its going to make it that much easier then.Seth Jones and Craig Smith had power-play goals in the second period and Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Predators. Backup goalie Carter Hutton stopped 30 shots, but remained winless in five starts this season — all on the road.The Ducks got the tying goal when Beauchemin poked the puck past Huttons right skate during a goalmouth scramble for his second goal of an injury-plagued season.When he wants to go after the puck, nothing gets in his way, Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. It was good for him to be able to score the goal because you know hes going to the front of the net in those situations.The Predators, who blew a three-goal lead against the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the final 2:01 of regulation on Saturday before winning in overtime, slipped into a tie atop the Central Division with Chicago after the Blackhawks beat Dallas in overtime.Weve had a tough last couple minutes the last couple games, but its nothing we cant fix and move on from, Smith said. You can see why Anaheims one of the best teams.They know how to play thheir systems well. Tony Pollard Cowboys Jersey. A lot of the guys on their team are really going right now. Same with us.The Ducks had four penalties called against them during a 6:37 span of the second period, after playing the first 35 1/2 minutes without getting one. Two of those infractions led to the power-play goals that gave Nashville a 3-2 lead.Jones tied the score with 6:10 left in the period on a double deflection off Keslers stick and Ben Lovejoys leg after taking long wrist shot with Beauchemin serving a holding-the-stick penalty. Smith put the Predators ahead with 2:46 to go, converting a rebound while Perry was off for tripping Shea Weber.Even though we were down 3-2, I thought we were the better team, Kesler said. Other than giving up a couple of power-play goals, I thought we took it to them 5-on-5.Beleskey opened the scoring with 7:45 left in the first with his team-high and career-best 17th goal, beating Hutton with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle after Kesler knocked heralded rookie Filip Forsberg off the puck in the neutral zone. Forsberg, who leads all rookies with 36 points, entered the game with a plus-23 rating.Ekholm tied it at 1:38 of the second with a slap shot from the top of the left circle. Anaheim regained the lead 74 seconds later on a sharp-angle shot from the right circle by Perry, his 15th goal this season and first in three games after missing the previous 10 because of a sprained knee.NOTES: Hutton received a Stanley Cup ring from the Chicago Blackhawks after the 2012-13 season despite playing in only one game for them because Ray Emery was too ill to play. It was a 3-1 loss at St. Louis in his NHL debut. ... The Ducks have been short-handed 17 times over their last three games, after a four-game stretch in which they were a man down just six times. ... Forsbergs assist on Ekholms goal was his 37th point, the most among rookies, and tied Alexander Radulovs franchise rookie record. ... The Ducks are 23-2-6 when allowing fewer than four goals. The only losses were 2-0 to St. Louis and 3-0 to San Jose. ... The Ducks have already played 15 games past regulation, just three fewer than all of last season. ... Anaheim is 1 for 27 on the power play in its last nine games. 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