As much as I love hockey, played it in my younger days and still watch it, I will be the first to tell you that NHL rules are written with gray ink on gray paper.

Here's a really good rule of thumb: If a call is made by a guy without any orange on his shirt, it is a pretty black & white call (no pun intended) and it is usually correct. Those are the linesmen and their very good almost all of the time. They mostly call the basic stuff like offsides, icing and a few infractions like too many men on the ice, hand passes and pucks hit with a high stick. The guys with the orange on their uniform are generally drunk, mentally challenged or have taken money to influence the outcome of the game. 99% of their calls are completely subjective and their interpretation of the rules can change minute by minute. Those are the refs.

Where the casual fan gets lost is when the refs call the game one way in the 1st and 2nd periods and then another way in the 3rd, if the game is tied or within one goal. And if you watch hockey during the regular season, it is an entirely different game in the playoffs. I think there were 3 penalties called last night. Unless you were blind, both teams got away with at least 2 tripping calls and a few other infractions as well. In short, they call fewer penalties in the playoffs and it gets silly in a game 7.

But fear not, if you just hang around this board long enough, you'll be a regular Barry Melrose in no time. Or in your case, maybe a Don Cherry...