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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 Ref! In last weeks game between the Canadiens and the Avalanche, Alex Galchenyuk came out of the penalty box and scored a highlight reel goal after poke-checking an Avs player to steal the puck. However, the Avalanche argued that he had one leg in the penalty box when he made that poke check. In the replay, though tough to make out, it seems Galchenyuk had one leg in the air but technically in the penalty box. Should he have been given a penalty on the play? Thanks! Rajiv Mississauga, ON On Saturday night in the Avs-Canadiens game, Alex Galchenyuk scored a nifty goal straight out of the penalty box. On slow motion replay, it showed that he stole the puck as it passed by him while he still had one foot INSIDE the penalty box. While this is a real testament to his skills, I have to wonder if this is actually a legal play, as the player was technically not on the ice? Thanks, Rene Roy Rajiv and Rene: Alex Galchenyuk had only touched the ice with one skate after exiting the penalty box and therefore was not deemed legally on the ice when he stole the puck off the stick of Nathan MacKinnon. By the letter of the law Alex Galchenyuk should have received an additional minor penalty for interference (56.2) and no goal would have resulted in what turned out to be a 3-2 Montreal victory in regulation time. Two rules reference this play in determining when a player is deemed to be legally on the ice from either the players bench or penalty box. First, 56.2 states that a minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players bench or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during the progress of the play. In addition, should a player about to come onto the ice, play the puck while one or both skates are still on the players or penalty bench, a minor penalty for interference shall be assessed. Rule 74.3 more clearly defines when a player is deemed to be legally on the ice: A player coming onto the ice as a substitute is considered on the ice once both of his skates are on the ice. If he plays the puck or interferes with an opponent while still on the players bench, he shall be penalized under rule 56 - Interference. The burn-in of the penalty clock shows that Galchenyuk exited the box a good two steamboats after his penalty had expired (00:00) due to his own slow departure. While he was entitled to be on the ice, the replay demonstrates that Alex had only planted his left on the ice while his back skate remained in/on the threshold of the penalty box door when he played the puck and interfered with MacKinnon. Even the most diehard Habs fan would have to agree that Alex had not yet contacted the ice with both of his skates when he stripped the puck from MacKinnon in violation of the above referenced rules. This can be a difficult infraction to catch but it is imperative that the officials count down the remaining penalty time as the clock ticks and then be aware if the puck is in the vicinity of the penalty box area. It is not just sufficient that the player is entitled to be on the ice but most importantly that he is deemed to be legally on the ice. Most players dont realize that they must have had both skates in contact with the ice prior to playing the puck from the players bench or penalty bench. I assessed penalties in more than two such situations when a player played the puck illegally from the penalty box. Alex Galchenyuk and the Montreal Canadiens caught a break on this play. Keith Hernandez Jersey . 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Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion.DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki scrambled to replace Tyson Chandler with the Dallas centre sidelined by back spasms, then he found himself with five fouls early in the fourth quarter.When the big German returned to the game, he carried the Mavericks to a come-from-behind win.Nowitzki matched his season high with 30 points, including 10 in the final 5 minutes, Chandler Parsons added 26 and the Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-107 Sunday night.We had to adjust a little bit, Id say, without Tyson, our warrior, our paint protector, said Nowitzki, who put Dallas ahead for good with two free throws with 3:25 to play and made all 12 of his shots from the line. Not really used to playing in foul trouble, because I never really foul. So I tried to move my feet and be long out there.The Thunder played their sixth straight game without Kevin Durant because of a sprained right ankle. They fell short in their third chance to reach .500 for the first time after Durant and Russell Westbrook were sidelined by injuries for 14 of the first 16 games.Serge Ibaka led Oklahoma City with a season-high 26 points, but was limited to just one shot and two points in the fourth quarter. Westbrook scored 18 but was 6 of 23 from the field. He missed a triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists. He also had five steals.He didnt shoot the ball well, coach Scott Brooks said. But he competed. He put us in position to have a chance to win this game. He gave everything he had.Nowitzki made his first start at centre in almost five years, according to STATS, and the resulting matchup issues made the 1,000th career game on the bench for Dallas coach Rick Carlisle a challenging one.The Mavericks often had the small-ball look that was a staple earlier in the 36-year-old Nowitzkis career, when he started at centre a little more often. It looked good early, with Parsons scoring 15 in the first quarter as the Mavericks led by as many as 11.It was the most unathletic front line weve eveer had in the history of the NBA with him at five and me at four, said Parsons, who was 10 of 16 from the floor, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range.ddddddddddddThe biggest concern was who was going to do the jump ball.Facing their biggest deficit at seven to start the fourth quarter, the Mavericks opened with an 11-2 run capped by consecutive baskets from Charlie Villanueva, the latter a 3-pointer from the left corner after Rajon Rondo found him with a cross-court bounce pass that travelled about 40 feet.Carlisle brought Nowitzki back with 5:44 left, and he scored eight of the next 12 points for a 106-102 lead.TIP-INSThunder: Brooks said Durant had another good day at shootaround Sunday but was not ready for the next step. The Thunder have two days off before their next game. ... Reggie Jackson scored 21, including a 3-pointer that got Oklahoma City within a point before Dallas pulled away in the final 3 minutes. ... Thunder players other than Westbrook made 39 of 67 shots (58 per cent).Mavericks: Carlisle, whose career record is 591-409 in 13 seasons, had 188 career games as a player with Boston and New Jersey. Hes also coached at Indiana and Detroit. ... PG Raymond Felton, the other major piece in the New York trade, made his Dallas debut in a brief appearance on the same night Chandler missed his first game.FRONTCOURT CHALLENGEAs expected, the Mavericks were outrebounded, 53-37, without Chandler, whos third in the league in that category. But they held their own on second-chance points at 19-15, part of the reason they rallied.BANGED-UP BACKCOURT MATESMonta Ellis scored 18 for Dallas before spraining his left ankle late in the game. Rondo, who played the fourth quarter with a small bandage over his right eye after getting cut late in the third, had 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.UP NEXTThunder: home against Phoenix on Wednesday.Mavericks: home against Washington on Tuesday before starting stretch of 14 of 19 on the road. ' ' '