San Jose Sharks left winger Ryane Clowe blatantly cheated, and got away with it, while sitting on the bench during the third period of Thursday night's NHL game against the Los Angeles Kings. Clowe reached over onto the ice with his stick and tapped the puck away while Kings center Jarret Stoll was racing down the ice with it on a 3-on-2 breakaway.
It happened with 2:40 remaining in regulation and the game tied 5-5. The puck tap by Clowe slowed down Stoll just enough to allow Sharks forward Logan Couture to knock the puck into the corner and stop the breakaway attempt. Somehow, none of the referees saw it, so no penalty was called, even though all three Kings players stopped skating and put their arms up in disbelief.
The game went into a shootout and the Sharks ended up winning 6-5, which is critical in terms of the standings. The Kings could have clinched the Pacific Division title with a win over the Sharks, but instead, the Sharks and Kings are tied with 94 points apiece and only one regular season game remaining.
The NHL has to do something about this in order to be taken seriously. Clowe needs to be punished in some way - if not a suspension, then a hefty fine. Also, the referees in this game need to be talked to, since there's no way that all of them should have missed that call.
Video via NHL Network. H/T Puck Daddy.
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April 06, 2012
