The San Jose Sharks expressed frustration on Friday with how their game with the St. Louis Blues was official the night before.
Shark trainer Bob Boughner didn’t like the trip call that was given to Timo Meier in the third half of a one-goal game in less than five minutes and didn’t understand why Torey Krug was not whistled in extra time. He checked Tomas Hertl from behind in the end boards next to the San Jose network.
« Timo is the icing on the cake if you look at it again, » said Boughner. “Maybe he could have pulled that guy off a bit, but there was no way he hit a guy from behind or tripped him with his stick. I thought that was a dubious call.
“In extra time I think that Krug hit Tommy Hertl from behind. If you want to call one, you have to call the other. You have to be of the same standard and I wasn’t thinking – call it what you want, a bad call, a missed call, whatever – I think that in those parts of the game you have to let the players play. There will be a battle and if you want to name something it has to be the same both ways. «
Thursday’s game marked the fifth time in the last six games that the Sharks have received more penalties than ties. Along with Patrick Marleau’s hook from Ryan O’Reilly in overtime, when the Blues captain hit that San Jose Network and attempted to play a pass from David Perron, the Sharks took four penalties and received only one power play.
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Marleau didn’t like the penalty and discussed his case with referee Tim Peel. Perron then scored 39 seconds later at 4:00 overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 win. The two teams will finish the two-game series on Saturday in St. Louis.
« In my opinion, I thought Patty’s was a punishment. Timo definitely wasn’t. I don’t think he touched Bortuzzo in that corner, » said Sharks captain Logan Couture. « It was just a mistake of the Referee and that will happen during a game.
« Of course we don’t want that to happen with a five minute lead (one goal lead). But it happens. We went out and killed it. We just couldn’t get the job done over time. «
The number of penalties the Haie have suffered lately not only suppresses the momentum, but also costs them valuable points. The Sharks gave three powerplay goals in a 3-1 loss to them last Saturday Vegas Golden Knights and three others in the previous game in a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Couture pointed out that the Sharks have received three penalties in six overtime games this season. In 15 games, the Sharks have been undercut 57 times, including 20 in the last five games when they allowed nine power play goals.
Of these 20 penalties, half were stick violations – hooking, sticking, tripping, or cutting open – that were somewhat avoidable.
When asked if any of the calls this season were questionable, Boughner said no, adding, « Sometimes we made our own problems. I wouldn’t blame the reference or anything. In certain situations we also need to be smarter. We approached this as a team by putting too many hooks and slashes and high sticking (penalties) that can be removed from our game.
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« If you play well and play hard, you’ll get a fair share of calls. I wouldn’t say we’re playing the compassion card. »
SATURDAY TARGET: Boughner said he has not yet decided who should play in goal on Saturday. Martin Jones stopped 42 of 45 shots on Thursday, including nine in overtime, making it his fifth straight start. Devan Dubnyk has not started since Feb. 6 as he recently dealt with a minor injury.
« We have to have both of them ready, » said Boughner. « It’s not just about (Saturday), it’s about playing Monday and flying home after the (blues) game. » We take all of this into account. «
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