Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, In the second period of the Senators/Devils game, Damien Brunner slashed the stick out of Jared Cowens hands and flipped it away, giving himself a clear break on the net. No call. And it resulted in a goal! This should be painfully obvious to call! Is there anything to suggest why this wasnt called? Thanks,Alex WilliamsOttawa, ON Alex: As Rule 61 (Slashing) suggests; any forceful or powerful chop with the stick on or near the opponents hands that, in the judgment of the Referee, is not an attempt to play the puck, shall be penalized as slashing. More specifically to the play you question, Rule 56.2 (Interference) clearly states that a minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who knocks a stick out of an opponents hand! It is an infraction that is routinely called by the refs and always expected by the players. As you suggest Alex, this should be a painfully obvious call; but only perhaps if its viewed from the open side or a correct angle. While Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean had a clear sightline and perfect angle from the bench to see Damien Brunner chop the stick out of Jared Cowens hand, referee Dennis LaRue was positioned on the opposite side of the ice and practically parallel to the play. From this disadvantaged position, one the referee was stuck in by not backpedaling quickly enough once the play developed, he was forced to look through the bodies of both Brunner and Cowen with no angle on the infraction. A lack of detection and reaction most likely resulted from this poor sightline. Perhaps the fact that Jared Cowen only had one hand on his stick and did not appear to maintain a position of strength in advance of a puck battle with Brunner gave LaRue the impression (from his perspective) that a penalty was unwarranted on the play. Whatever the reason, LaRues perception of the play became a reality when he did not raise his arm and assess an interference penalty to Damien Brunner. Paul MacLean also had a better sightline on another undetected infraction earlier in the game that resulted in Reid Boucher scoring his first NHL goal to give the Devils a 2-0 lead at 12:08 of the opening period. On a Devils breakout from deep inside their end zone, Michael Ryder tripped Joe Corvo from behind just inside the Devils blue line eliminating the Senator forward from the back-check. If you freeze the wide camera shot the instant Ryder took down Corvo, you will see young referee Trent Knorr standing in the corner and staring back behind the goal line. All five Devils skaters were in motion ahead of the referees fixed sightline back toward an area where no visual coverage was required. The perfectly executed trip by Michael Ryder went undetected by the rookie referee allowing Ryder to set up Bouchers first goal with an additional assist to Eric Gelinas. On these two missed infractions that resulted in goals, neither Referee adjusted their position, sightline or focus of attention quickly enough as the play develop. A referee must read the play in advance with his head on a swivel and utilize rapid eye movement to set the up chess board in anticipation of future moves. There is no doubt the great players develop an uncanny field of vision in spite of the speed of the game. The same skill can and must be developed by the refs. I often felt that a complaining coach had the absolute worst perspective on a play gained from standing behind his players bench. Coach Paul MacLean disproved my theory in last nights Sens loss to the Devils in what he would probably also describe as two painfully obvious missed calls! Cheap Adidas Bruins Jerseys . 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Cheap Bruins Jerseys China .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. WASHINGTON -- The king of Canadian tennis isnt ready to give up his throne just yet. Milos Raonic delivered a strong message Sunday with a workmanlike 6-1, 6-4, win against countryman Vasek Pospisil in an anti-climactic Citi Open final in Washington, D.C. The match marked the first all-Canadian final in ATP history and took just 67 minutes to complete. "It gives me a lot of confidence," said Raonic, who earned his first ATP title of 2014 and will rise one spot in the latest ATP rankings and match his career-high of No. 6 in the world. "Ive always said that hard courts are by far my favourite, and having done as well I did on clay and grass (this year), it got me really excited about this week. For that to be my showing right away this week was great." Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., was nearly perfect in his first tournament since a semifinal run at Wimbledon. As the second seed in Washington, Raonic did not drop a set all week thanks largely to what the 13th-seeded Pospisil called "the best serve in the game right now." Raonic won 92 per cent of his first serve points in Sundays final and faced just one break point against in beating Pospisil for the second time in as many ATP meetings. Raonic also beat Pospisil in three sets in the semifinals of last years Rogers Cup in Montreal. "It was a combination of him playing very well and my being very heavy legged," said Pospisil, who spent more than 3 1/2 hours on court Saturday after his quarter-final match from Friday was delayed by rain. "I ran out of gas a little bit, it took me a while to get into the match, but credit to him, he played very well." Pospisil, from Vancouver, was playing in his first career ATP final. The 24-year-old is experiencing an incredible in-season turnaround, having reached at least the quarter-finals in four of his last five events, just months after a nagging back injury contributed to an eight-match losing streak from February through May. Pospisil will rise from 36th to 28th in the ATP world rankings. "It was a positive week for me," he said. "I couldnt expect too much out of myself today just given the 24 hours that I had with the day before. But it was a very positive week, (including) a top-5 win," against world No. 5 Tomas Berdych which eliminated the tournaments top seed. There was a definite Canadian feel surrounding Sundays final with fans sporting Canadian flags, pins and jerseys on the grounds of the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington. "Its not just here," Raonic said. "With my doing as well as I have, and (Eugenie Bouchard) and Vasek and many more, its something where that kind of atmosphere has been more consistent following us around the world. Its nice to seee that.dddddddddddd" The maiden all-Canadian final was the latest milestone for Tennis Canada and it just happened to take place on the eve of the countrys marquee tennis event, the Rogers Cup. Earlier this year at Wimbledon, Raonic became the first Canadian male to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, while Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., was the first Canadian to compete in a Grand Slam final. "It feels like theres history being made all the time," said Pospisil, who teamed with American Jack Sock to win the gentlemens doubles title at Wimbledon. "As a Canadian, I feel like Im hearing it all the time, whether it was at Wimbledon with Genie Bouchard or Milos, so yeah, its nice. But for me, I was thinking more that it was my first final (Sunday) which was great. But yeah, it was nice to be a part of." Raonic and Pospisil also posed with a Canadian flag for a pre-match photo on stadium court. Soon after, Raonic went to work, breaking Pospisil in the opening game of the match, and twice more in the 28-minute opening set. "It was great the way I started," Raonic said. "I couldnt have asked for more. I had a chance to break in every single game in the first set and then I continued to play solid after that. All in all, a very good performance in an important moment for me." The second set was more competitive with the crowd rallying behind Pospisil to force a decisive third set, as both players held serve through the first nine games. Raonic eventually broke with Pospisil serving to stay in the match at 4-5. Raonic clinched the win with a cross court backhand winner. "This one is different," Raonic said of his sixth career hard court title. "Now I go into every tournament, as I have for the past few weeks and months, believing I can win every tournament. In 2012 and 2013, it sort of had to be the right tournament for me. Now I feel like I can win any and every tournament." The next opportunity comes at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where Sundays historic final from Washington aired on screens across the campus of York University. "History is being made," said Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale in Toronto. "As Canadians, were all very patriotic as we see with hockey and things like that. On the site here, for example, everybodys talking about that match, including the players. Its good to see Vasek come back after some injuries. Thats really exciting. And also for Canadians to see them on TV all the time and now we have two players in the final, its just amazing." NOTES: Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa won her first career WTA title at the Citi Open on Saturday. Dabrowski partnered with Shuko Aoyama of Japan to win the womens doubles championship. ' ' '