Episode 227 / December 20, 2024:

With the final #RefsPodcast before Christmas, we look at who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, along with the airing of grievances in the spirit of Festivus!

Linesman Travis Toomey injured, Detroit Red Wings’ Jonatan Berggren fined for cross-checking, San Jose Sharks’ coach Ryan Warsofsky fined $25,000 for comments towards the officials, and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse picks up two for tripping and another two for mouthing off to referee Kelly Sutherland. 

We’ve got an offensive goaltender interference challenge that put a goal back on the board for the Vegas Golden Knights' Ivan Barbashev after Mark Stone skimmed the top of the crease and, from the same game, no call for a Jack Eichel cross-check that sent the Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm crashing into the boards.

Also, a bit of a cluster-puck in Philly as the ref’s arm goes up… then down… but not quickly enough to avoid the Flyers pulling their goalie and sending out another skater… only to draw a whistle for too many men on the ice. We - like the refs did - will sort this one out.

We also take a look at The Athletic’s Rules Court, which happens to coincidentally touch on something from Rob Vollman’s Hockey Abstract book on advanced NHL stats from a few years back. (Rob is currently the LA Kings’ Director of Analytics; his book Stat Shot is a great read…)

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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. 

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