the remainder of the

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Jazz Jerseys 2020 .ca. I am sitting here watching the remainder of the Bruins and Habs game. You have said on numerous occasions that referees do not decide games or in this case, series. Was that the case with Game 7? I have many calls that we could discuss but I only want to ask about the one called against Boston with 4:31 left in the game. Did that call not decide the series? That was an interference call, however to be fair, lets sit and review the game. Can you tell me that throughout the game(s) it was fair and the calls were fair? They let so much go and then make calls like snow on the goalies shoulder! When was the last time that was called? Definitely not in a Game 7! Brian Gamley Brian: First, the Montreal Canadiens were the better team on this night and deserved the win and the series. The Bruins were tight and out of sync throughout most of Game 7. If you look at the penalty called by referee Dave Jackson on Johnny Boychuk with 4:31 remaining in regulation time it is fair to determine that by the letter of the law interference was committed once Boychuk built a bridge with his stick and shoved Bournival to the ice shortly after the puck was chipped through the neutral zone.  There is also some argument to make that since Bournival did not alter his path to get outside Boychuk, but instead skated a stride or two directly into the Bruins defender that contact was inevitable and no harm, no foul - resulted 130 feet from the Bruins net. Whatever you believe to be most accurate is your prerogative. I want to focus my attention on how this specific call, with the score 2-1 and 4:31 remaining in Game 7, fit into the overall standard that the refs employed throughout the game. When I do that, it is only reasonable to conclude there were too many inconsistencies to deem this a penalty at that particular time in the game. Before I explain why I believe this to be true I want to provide some background on how the officials prepare for a game of this nature and the assignment process. When approaching any playoff game, especially a deciding game or Game 7, it is vital that the officiating crew be well prepared mentally and physically. In this case, that process would actually begin at least a day before the game when the officials left home and travelled to Boston (they might have also anticipated or even been assigned to Game 7 prior to Game 6 being played in Montreal. In any event they would have likely watched that game closely on television).  While the officials are responsible for their personal preparation and readiness, the series supervisor (in this case, Kris King) also has some responsibility to get the crew mentally prepared in a meeting he conducts at noon on the day of the game. He, of course, cant work the game for them so his job is more like that of a coach and motivator. Selecting the officials assigned to the game is the direct responsibility of Stephen Walkom, V.P. of Officiating based on his evaluation process and that of his supervisors and Hockey Operations. Referee Dan ORourke has been selected to work the Stanley Cup Final on a couple of occasions. Dave Jackson returned to playoff assignments this season under Stephen Walkom after not participating in the playoffs from 2010-13 under boss Terry Gregson. The first period was crucial for the referees to set an acceptable standard and tone that hopefully the players would respond to and could be consistently applied throughout the game. From almost the opening puck drop key decisions were made on calls and non-calls that made this objective almost impossible to be maintained and achieve success. On the very first shift, Brad Marchand caught Michael Bournival with a high-stick to the head just inside the Montreal blue line that went un-penalized. Marchand then received the first penalty at 6:18 of the game for goalie interference assessed by referee Jackson. On this play, it was Andrei Markov of the Canadiens that cross-checked Marchand in the neck and caused the Bruins player to fall through the crease and contact Carey Price. The first penalty call is often crucial to set the standard and this one clearly sent the wrong message. At approximately 9:48 of the first period, Reilly Smith was given a rough ride with an obvious leg/stick trip takedown in front of the Habs net by Josh Gorges as Price caught on incoming puck. The same referee was once again in good position to see the play but chose not to call this tripping/interference infraction. At the other end of the ice, Zdeno Chara received a holding penalty following a puck battle with Rene Bourque against the boards where some detainment was exerted by Chara and a quick call resulted from Dan ORourke. These decisions set a difficult standard for the referees to maintain as it appeared the game was being worked differently from end of the ice to the other. It only took seven seconds into the second period when Brad Marchand was whistled for stopping hard at the crease and penalized for a snow-shower on Habs goalie Price. These calls are typically something that needs to be addressed early in a series and not in game seven. It would be at this juncture that some "game management" as I described in yesterdays column could be used to the refs advantage. Then at 17:06, David Krejci had his lower glove hand slashed by Lars Eller on the back-check as Krejci was attempting to redirect a centering pass from Torey Krug. Krejci had words with referee Jackson when no call was made. So now we move to the Johnny Boychuk interference penalty that was called with 4:31 remaining in regulation time of Game 7. Given all of the above events, plus the fact that Bournival did not attempt to skate around Boychuk in addition to some embellishment on the play, it would have been the appropriate time for the referee to keep his arm down and allow the play to continue. Custom Utah Jazz Jerseys . Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club. Utah Jazz Gear . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.Andy Murray is back in action as the ATPs Masters series starts in Indian Wells - who could the Scot face as he chases a first title of the season? Having taken time off following his run to the Australian Open final (another Novak Djokovic defeat), Murray plays for the second consecutive week having led Great Britain to a Davis Cup victory over Japan in Birmingham.Murray will take to the court aiming for a first title since becoming a father and also a first title in Indian Wells - his best showing in California coming when he lost in the final to Rafa Nadal in 2009, while last year he fell at the semi-final stage to Djokovic. The world No 2 blew away the cobwebs after his fatherhood-induced lay-off with victories over Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori last week but who could he face in the US as he targets a first Indian Wells title. Spains Marcel Granollers has lost five of his six meetings with Murray Second Round - Marcel GranollersFirst up for Murray is Spains Granollers who beat Bosnias Damir Dzumhur for the loss of just one game in the first round. Murray has played the world No 92 on six previous occasions and has won five of them including each of the last three.Only two of the meetings have been on hard courts, Murray winning at the Australian Open in 2009 and the Toronto Masters in 2013 while the only win for Granollers came on the clay courts of the Rome Masters when Murray was forced to retired with the back problem that was to hinder him.Their last meeting came at the Madrid Masters last year, where Murray lost just two games on his way to claiming the title.It has been a low key start to the season for Granollers whose first round win over Dzumhur was only his third victory of the ATP main tour season.Third Round - Joao Sousa Murray beat Portugals Joao Sousa at the Australian Open earlier this year After starting with a Spaniard we expect a trip across the border for Murray and a familiar foe in the shape of Portugals world No 37 Joao Sousa - a man he has beaten on all seven occasions they have met.The pair clashed most recently in Melbourne at the Australian Open where Murray came through in four sets to seal a place in the last 16.Sousa takes on Argentinas Federico Delbonis in their second round match - should the Argentine prevail it will set-up a first ever meeting with the world No 2 and Murray should be wary as Delbonis has put together a couple of decent runs this season, most recently reaching the quarter-finals at the Rio Open.Fourth Round - Nick Kyrgios/Gael Monfils Nick Kyrgios celebrates after defeating Marin Cilic to claim his first ATP tour title Two players, one word - maverick. Whoever comes through from this section, Murray will know what to expect and that is the unexpected.Both men should come through relatively straightforward second round matches to set up a blockbusting third round encounter - both men have enjoyed good starts to the season with Kyrgios claiming his first career ATP title in Marseille and Monfils reaching the last eight at the Australian Open before losing in the final in Rotterdam.Murray will hope for Kyrgios given he has won all four meetings with the Aussie, the last three coming in majors including the Scots four-set first round victory at the US Open.Monfils has won two of his six meeetings with Murray, the world No 16 winning the last hard court meeting in 2010 although its Murray who won their most recent encounter, a five-set epic in the French Open quarter-final. Cheap Jazz Jerseys. Quarter-Final - Milos Raonic/Tomas Berdych Murray needed five sets to see off Raonic in an epic Autralian Open quarter-final Into the last eight now and it looks like a big server for Murray - even if there is an upset in the quarter it looks most likely to come from a returning Juan Martin Del Potro or focused Bernard Tomic.Raonic is a man in form with an Australian Open semi-final and a Brisbane victory under his belt this season while Berdych is a perennial quarter-finalist, so Murray is likely to face one of these two with both men ranked in the top 14.Murrays won his last three against Raonic including a five-set semi-final victory at the Australian Open, while the Canadian beat Murray at Indian Wells in 2014, coming from a set down for the victory.Berdych, the world No 7, has lost his last three against Murray including each of the last seven sets and the Scot would rather face Berdych than Raonics booming left-handed serve.Semi-Final - Stan Wawrinka Stan Wawrinka is likely to be Murrays semi-final opponent, if they both make it that far Stan the man, seeded third in Indian Wells should come through his half of the draw in relatively comfortable fashion. In-form Pablo Cuevas could be a lively contender, having won twice this year, while Marin Cilic is a likely quarter-final foe.However Wawrinka would expect to come through, as another of the five men with two titles already under their belt this year - the 30-year-old won in Dubai and Chennai but was a surprise quarter-final loser in Melbourne.Murray will need to reverse a recent trend too as the Swiss ace has won the last three meetings between the pair without dropping a set and, even more impressively, has won the last nine finals he has contestedFinal - Novak Djokovic A familiar foe is likely to lie in wait if Murray can make it all the way.... Yep, you know who again! The reality is that the world No 1 and four-time Indian Wells winner will comfortably stroll through his half of the draw. Rafa Nadal, Kei Nishikori and the richly-talented Dominic Thiem are potential stumbling blocks but the only danger to Djokovic is himself.In his last tournament he withdrew from his quarter-final in Dubai with an eye problem, his only defeat of the season, but he showed no ill effects in leading Serbia to Davis Cup victory over Kazakhstan - they will now meet Murrays GB in the last eight.The Serb loves the hard courts of North America and with Miami to follow Indian Wells it is worth noting he has done the double of winning both events back-to-back on three separate occasions.Since the Wimbledon final of 2014, Djokovic has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the pair and boasts a 22-9 career record over Murray who can take some comfort from the fact his last win came on the hard courts at the Toronto Masters last year.You can watch all the action from Indian Wells on Sky Sports Also See: Tennis on Sky Latest scores Murray on Sharapova Nadal on Sharapova ' ' '