Over the weekend, Sharks coach David Quinn became demonstrably upset at NHL referee Gord Dwyer. Tuesday, it was Erik Karlsson’s turn.
Early in the third period of what became a 6-0 Sharks loss to Colorado at Ball Arena in Denver, Karlsson took a stick to the face from an Avalanche player that drew blood.
There was no call on the play by either referee, Dwyer or Corey Syvret, and after he reached the bench to get repairs, Karlsson tossed his helmet onto the ice in frustration before he left for the dressing room.
That drew a 10-minute misconduct penalty, the first of Karlsson’s NHL career.
“Just a little disrespectful, I think, from their end, but it is what it is,” Karlsson said. “I understand that they have a tough job and things are gonna get missed, but I found that was a hard one to miss. I didn’t even say anything bad and to get disrespected like that, it’s tough to take.
“I lost my cool a little bit after that. I apologize for that but it doesn’t matter if it’s a 6-0 game or a 1-0 game, we’re still out there trying to play our hardest and keep it within the means we can. Stuff happens sometimes.”
Karlsson expanded on why he felt he was disrespected.
“If I would have said something really offside, I think I would have been the first one to say I deserved it, but I don’t think so,” Karlsson said. “But again, I don’t make the rules. I try and apply to them. There’s a little gray area sometimes and I don’t really know what to say. It’s the second game in a row now.”
According to Karlsson, Syvret said he was behind the play, adding that he couldn’t see it and did not want to guess.
“I heard some other guy say maybe I fell a little bit too easy or something, and that was pretty much it,” Karlsson said. “Would have been nice to just get, ‘We missed that one. We’re sorry,’ and we could have all moved on, but don’t think we’re going to get to that point now.”
Karlsson said he and Dwyer have historically had a good relationship. After Karlsson served the misconduct, he returned to the ice and shook his head as he skated past Dwyer.
“Obviously today, we didn’t treat each other with the respect that we both deserve. I’m sure the appropriate people will handle it,” Karlsson …read more
Source:: The Mercury News