Today's NHL Referees and Linespersons – 6/18/24
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Gues who’s back… back again? The officiating crew from Games 1 and 3 returns for tonight’s Game 5:
REFEREES |
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Dan O’Rourke #9![]() |
Steve Kozari #40![]() |
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Games ’23-24 (RS/PO) | 64 / 14 | 66 / 15 | ||||
Career Games (RS/PO) | 1447 / 216 | 1218 / 166 | ||||
First NHL Game | 10/2/99 | 10/15/05 | ||||
Birthplace | Calgary, AB | Penticton, BC | ||||
Goals/Gm | 6.0 (35) | 6.2 (20) | ||||
PP Opp/Gm | 6.1 (22) | 6.3 (12) | ||||
PPG/Gm | 1.2 (32) | 1.1 (38) | ||||
Penl/Gm | 8.3 (9) | 7.7 (17) | ||||
PIM/Gm | 20.3 (9) | 18.3 (26) | ||||
% of Penl on Home | 50.4% (14) | 49.2% (25) | ||||
% PP Opp for Home | 51.0% (29) | 52.0% (21) | ||||
Penl Diff.* | 1.5 (7) | 1.3 (22) | ||||
Home Win % | 74% (3) | 52% (36) | ||||
Home Rec. | 45-14-6 | 30-27-10 | ||||
OT/SO Games | 24.6% (8) | 17.9% (29) | ||||
Team Records | 24 PO | 23-24 | 22-23 | 24 PO | 23-24 | 22-23 |
EDM | 0-5 | 2-2-0 | 2-0-0 | 0-4 | 4-1-1 | 3-1-0 |
FLA | 5-0 | 4-0-1 | 5-0-0 | 4-1 | 2-0-0 | 3-2-1 |
LINESPERSONS |
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Matt MacPherson #83![]() |
Jonny Murray #95![]() |
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Games ’23-24 (RS/PO) | 72 / 14 | 71 / 15 | ||||
Career Games (RS/PO) | 887 / 125 | 1503 / 206 | ||||
First NHL Game | 10/11/11 | 10/7/00 | ||||
First Playoff Game | 4/17/14 | 4/16/09 | ||||
Birthplace | Antigonish, NS | Beauport, QC |
Refs Steve Kozari and Dan O’Rourke worked Game 1 (FLA W 3-0) and 3 (FLA W 4-3) of this series. In both games combined, the Oilers have had 6 power plays compared to 3 for the Panthers — with neither team scoring on the power play in either game.
Kozari and O’Rourke were paired up starting in the Conference Finals, where they worked FLA/NYR Game 1 (FLA W 3-0), DAL/EDM Game 3 (EDM L 5-3), and FLA/NYR Game 5 (FLA W 3-2).
Referee Steve Kozari worked most of the postseason alongside Kyle Rehman. In round 1, the duo handled NSH/VAN Game 1, COL/WPG Game 2, NYR/WSH Game 4, and TOR/BOS Game 5. Kozari also worked DAL/VGK Game 6 alongside referee Francois St. Laurent.
The second round saw Kozari and Rehman take the ice for CAR/NYR Game 1, EDM/VAN Game 1 (EDM L 5-4), DAL/COL Game 3, and BOS/FLA Game 5 (FLA L 2-1). Kozari was also paired up with Francis Charron for NYR/CAR Game 6.
The Oilers are 0-4 this postseason under Kozari; the Panthers have gone 4-1.
Referee Dan O’Rourke skated alongside Tom Chmielewski in the opening round, working VGK/DAL Game 1, LAK/EDM Game 2 (EDM L 5-4 OT), and WPG/COL Game 3. He was then paired up with Chris Rooney for BOS/TOR Game 6 and with Wes McCauley for VGK/DAL Game 7.
O’Rourke worked Round 2 with Francois St. Laurent, officiating COL/DAL Game 1, FLA/BOS Game 2 (FLA W 6-1), CAR/NYR Game 5, and EDM/VAN Game 5 (EDM L 3-2).
The Florida Panthers have gone 14-0-1 in their last 15 games under O’Rourke, including playoffs. The Oilers are 0-5 this postseason when O’Rourke is working; the Panthers are 5-0.
Tonight’s game will put O’Rourke into a tie with referee Chris Rooney for the most Stanley Cup Final games worked by an active official (18), behind Kelly Sutherland (27) and Wes McCauley (24).
Standby Officials: Jean Hebert (#15), Devin Berg (#87) Officiating Supervisor: Kris KingStats have been updated through the end of the 2023-24 regular season.
Games: PS (Preseason); RS (Regular Season); PO (Playoffs)
Number in orange/parentheses indicated referee’s rank among active officials.
* Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2. Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
NHL Referees, Linespersons Set For 2024 Stanley Cup Final
We’ve got new rules, new refs, promoted refs, and an updated pronunciation guide for 2023-24.
Here is the NHL’s officating roster for the 2023-24 season:
NHL Officials – 2023-24