Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Nate Ebner Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry, In Tuesdays Stars/Maple Leafs game, Dallas is trying to come back. With 13:07 left, Jason Spezza, having obvious difficulties entering the offensive zone, actually puts himself offside! He skates into the zone while the puck is still out then brings the puck in. Not sure how the linemen missed this but adding injury to insult, a penalty is called on Stephane Robidas. My question is this: if the call for offside was made late and just as the ref calls the penalty, could the ref have changed his ruling and cancelled his call on Robidas? Thanks for all the great columns! Claude Gauthier Claude: The Linesman made the correct call when Jason Spezza legally carried the puck across the Toronto blue line even though Spezzas skates crossed the inside edge of the line well ahead of the puck. Rule 83.1 states: A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line regardless of the position of his stick. However, a player actually controlling the puck who shall cross the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered off-side, provided he had possession and control of the puck prior to his skates crossing the blue line. Spezza pulled the puck back with a stickhandle move that caused his skates to clearly enter the zone ahead of the puck. The key to this being deemed on-side is the fact that Spezza maintained complete possession and control of the puck through as he entered the attacking zone. Even if the puck was not in direct contact with Spezzas stick at the instant the puck crossed the leading edge, a normal stick-handle maneuver is considered possession and control. Further to this, if Spezza had somehow mishandled the puck through the stickhandle maneuver, which caused the puck to leave the attacking players immediate vicinity it would be deemed off-side once Spezza reacquired control of the puck and brought it across the line. This would also be true if the puck inadvertently jumped off the attackers stick (bad ice?) resulting in a loss of possession and control of the puck. Now that I have established that Spezza was on-side at the blue line, let me expand on your hypothetical question and bring it to reality. The very situation you described actually occurred in a game I worked in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. I described the play in this column previously but it bears repeating, especially since we recently saw a player placed in the penalty box for a minor penalty and was subsequently released after the two referees had a consultation (penalty cancelled). This took place a couple of games after a phantom penalty was called on Luke Glendening by the ref in the neutral zone when Caps goalie Braden Holtby tripped on his own when backing up to return to his crease. In my answer to that question I responded that the other referee and/or linesmen should have seen the play clearly and advised the neutral zone ref he was mistaken and no penalty should result. This is what took place in the game when I cancelled a penalty after I had raised my arm and stopped play. An LA Kings player was carrying the puck across the attacking blue line in the middle of the ice with a winger on his right side skating tight to the boards in front of the visiting players bench. The Kings right winger passed in very close proximity to the Linesman standing on the blue line. I followed 15 feet behind the play and on the opposite side of the ice to where the Linesman was positioned. As the puck was carried across the blue line my gut reaction was that the winger had jumped just ahead of the puck creating an off-side situation. I glanced at the linesman and he did not react as play was allowed to continue. The puck carrier continued straight into the attacking zone a good 10 to 15 feet beyond the blue line (high slot) when he was hooked off the puck. I raised my arm to call the obvious infraction. The puck was turned over quickly following the hook and as I killed the play the linesman blew his whistle simultaneously with mine. I approached the lineman and he advised me that the play was off-side at the blue line and he was slow to react and missed his mouth with the whistle on his initial attempt to stop play! Over 18,000 fans in Staples Center, both teams and the television viewing audience saw me raise my arm to call a penalty that never should have occurred if the linesman had blown his whistle once the off-side infraction took place. I made the quick decision to cancel the penalty call and eat crow if necessary. I advised Kings coach Terry Murray of my decision to withdraw the penalty and that his team would not be receiving the benefit of a power-play. Murray told me I couldnt cancel a penalty! In spite of the logic I presented it still didnt sit well with the Kings coach so I drew him a visual from the NFL to support my decision. I said, Terry, have you ever seen an NFL ref throw a flag for a penalty and then cancel the initial call by announcing it was an inadvertent flag? Terry nodded in agreement. I quickly followed up by saying, Tonight, for the first time in the NHL you have seen an inadvertent arm by the referee and there is no penalty on the play! That settled the debate. I clicked on the microphone at the penalty bench and announced, The play was off-side at the blue line. There is no penalty on the play. I instructed the linesman to drop the puck quickly outside the blue line as the partisan crowd booed my announcement. Justice was served. Mike Nugent Jersey . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night. Jakobi Meyers Jersey . In five games last month, Billings led all scorers with 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points as the Rock posted a 2-3 record. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points.This week the 2013/14 Premier League season comes to a close. Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. This list is based purely on their performances this season. It is not a list of who we think the best 50 players in the league are. Fourteen members were asked to take part (panel below) and submit their top 20 players of the season. Their list was then placed into a scoring system and then the totals determined the overall positions in the top 50. Each day this week we will release the list in 10s. The sport is very much about opinions, so please feel free to write your own list in the comments below. You can read part one of the list here. Here is how the Top 20 were scored – 1st place – 30pts; 2nd place – 25; 3rd place – 22; 4th place – 20; 5th place – 18; 6th place – 17; 7th place – 15; 8th place – 14; 9th place – 13; 10th place – 12; 11th place – 10; 12th place – 9; 13th place – 8; 14th place – 7; 15th place – 6; 16th place – 5; 17th place – 4; 18th place – 3; 19th place – 2; 20th place – 1. The Panel Six members of TSNs soccer team were on the panel and were joined by eight other members from around the world who were asked to represent their specific field. Joining our staff members were two outstanding statistical experts, Jonny Blain and Simon Gleave, two brilliant reporters/commentators covering the league, Stewart Coggin and Paul Sarahs and two extremely knowledgeable tactics writers, Tim Palmer and Ritesh from the False9 website and a man who covers the development side of the league like no other, Aidan from the England Youth website. In addition, also involved was arguably one of the knowledgeable writers covering the league in the world, Michael Cox, aka Zonal Marking. Follow the Panel on Twitter Aidan from England Youth – https://twitter.com/englandyouthJonny Blain - https://twitter.com/jonoblainNoel Butler - https://twitter.com/TheSoccerNoelStewart Coggin - https://twitter.com/StewartCogginMichael Cox - https://twitter.com/Zonal_MarkingJason DeVos - https://twitter.com/jasondevosSimon Gleave - https://twitter.com/SimonGleaveKristian Jack - https://twitter.com/KristianJackTim Palmer - https://twitter.com/timhpalRitesh from The False9 - https://twitter.com/TheFalse_9Paul Sarahs - https://twitter.com/PaulSarahsPete Schaad - https://twitter.com/PeteSchaadGareth Wheeler - https://twitter.com/WheelerTSNLuke Wileman - https://twitter.com/LukeWileman 40. Kevin Mirallas (Everton) – Part of the reason for Evertons success this season has been their consistency, with many of their players, weekly, reaching a standard they require. Mirallas is not one of them. Some weeks he looks like someone who could one day be sold for a lot of money, going above that standard with electrifying runs, great positional awareness and some clinical finishing. Then, other weeks, Mirallas looks tired, unfit and easy to mark out of a game. There is room for his up and down unpredictability in a usually reliable Everton team but one wonders what road he will go down more in the future. 39. James McCarthy (Everton) – There were a couple of people on the panel who loved McCarthy and pushed hard for his place on this list (this writer included). It is hard to believe he played some Championship games for Wigan this season. Although his move to a bigger club was long overdue, being reunited with Roberto Martinez ensured Everton, once again, ticked a key box for the club by selling a bigger player for more money (Marouane Fellaini) and replacing him with a better one for less. 38. Asmir Begovic (Stoke) – Under new manager Mark Hughes, Stoke City slowly went about a modified change in style this season which meant they allowed more shots and goals conceded but none of this fell on the shoulders of Begovic. He remains one of the leagues best goalkeepers and had another standout campaign, which also included a goal! Not sure how much longer teams liike Arsenal, for example, will allow a much superior goalkeeper to play for a team like Stoke. Mike Haynes Jersey. 37. David Marshall (Cardiff) – The relegated team went through a lot of turmoil this season but had no such worry in goal. "I wouldnt swap him for anyone, thats for sure," said manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Scot has backed him up, making more saves than any goalkeeper in the league. His save on Aston Villas Andreas Weimann in February was one of the best youll ever see. 36. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) – Another goalkeeper from a team who had a season full of turmoil, Lloris gets his spot after an outstanding season. The modern day goalkeeper is required to be an excellent distributor and the Frenchmans reflexes off the line often see him playing as a sweeper. Too bad for Lloris that the defence in front of him got worse as the season went on. 35. Dejan Lovren (Southampton) – Many of Lovrens team-mates have received plenty of plaudits for a record-breaking season for the Saints but you could make the case that the most valuable of all of Southamptons players was the Croatian international. It is hard to believe he is only 24 years old. When he first joined Lyon he struggled for a while in the French league but grew in stature and showed tremendous poise on the ball. He brought those qualities and more to the Premier League this season and the Saints may have a hard time keeping him away from some of the bigger clubs. 34. Sylvain Distin (Everton) – What a player. At 36, Distin has arguably been one of the most underrated players in world football for half a decade. This season he went past the 400 Premier League appearances mark and has now played more games in the league than any non-British outfield player. All for a player who never received one cap for his country. Selling Joleon Lescott and buying the Frenchman for a quarter of the price, back in 2009, remains one of the smartest pieces of business the league has ever seen. 33. Rickie Lambert (Southampton) – The Englishmans 12 goals this season give him a total of 27 over the last two seasons and that is quite a haul for a man who spent most of career in the lower leagues of English football. However, Lambert is not on this list purely for his goals. This season, under Mauricio Pocchetino, he evolved as a player, comfortably playing wide, dropping deep, and making up the triangles needed in Southamptons breathtaking attack. His total of ten assists shows his improvement in this regard. 32. Wilfried Bony (Swansea) – Last season Michu led Swansea with 18 goals and 110 shots and no other player at the club had half that amount in either category. No one saw Michus rise to fame coming and the smartest thing Swansea did was not betting on it to continue. They needed a proven goalscorer at that level and, as many clubs have shown, those are not easy to find. The Dutch Eredivisie doesnt always get much respect but last seasons top scorer was poached and the Ivorian has more than delivered, scoring 15 goals on 106 shots. The most impressive thing about Bony is the range of different goals he scores. He looks like a player who has a big future at this level and could one day reach that special 100 in the Premier League. 31. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) – When the season entered its fourth month, the Spaniard was unhappy. He had played less than 30 minutes combined in just three substitute appearances, and was back on the bench again at Newcastle in early November. Chelsea would lose 2-0 that day and for the next game the right back replaced Ashley Cole at left back. For the next five months he has played at such a high level that the high-profile Englishman hasnt deserved his spot back. Azpilicueta is versatile, a tremendous reader of the game, excellent defending in one-on-one situations and is, crucially, comfortable defending narrow, closer to his centre-back, which has helped Jose Mourinhos side become very difficult to break down. Its been a season that deserves his spot on this list and in Spains World Cup squad, which is no mean feat after all. ' ' '