San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is hot and bothered after officials failed to make an icing call Sunday night, when the visiting Colorado Avalanche won 4-3 in Game 2 to even the second-round playoff series at 1-1. FILE PHOTO: Mar 14, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) controls the puck against the Florida Panthers during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports Vlasic basically kept his mouth shut about a non-call, which came late in the second period and led to the Avalanche’s go-ahead goal. But what he implied should sum up his feelings. “[A whistle for icing would have been] the right call. Absolutely, I’ll take the high road and wait for the league’s apology tomorrow,” Vlasic said after the game, in which the Avalanche came back from a 1-0 first-period deficit to score twice in the critical second period. Asked again, Vlasic basically repeated his previous statement. Apparently, the apology reference had to do with what happened in the Sharks’ first-round series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The league apologized to the Golden Knights after officials in Game 7 mistakenly gave the Sharks a major penalty, with the ensuing power-play fueling San Jose’s deciding victory. On Sunday night, with the scored tied 1-1, Vlasic thought he won a race for the puck with the Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen, but officials let play continue without making an icing call. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped a point-blank shot by Gabriel Landeskog, but Tyson Barrie smacked the rebound with a one-timer into the top corner to give Colorado a 2-1 lead at 16:31 of the second period. Not that Vlasic would admit that the play determined the outcome of the game. “When we had a 1-0 lead, I thought we should’ve, not ended it, but poured it on and got the second and third one, and they would have been done,” he said. “We kept them in it.” Instead, Colorado went ahead 3-1 midway through the third period and hung on despite allowing two goals in the final five minutes. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn’t agree with Vlasic’s cool assessment regarding the officials’ failure to call icing. “It was the exact same as the icing here the other night [during the Sharks’ 5-2 victory in Game 1], when Karlsson had the inside track on Compher,” Bednar said. “They’re in a race, they blow it down for icing because Karlsson had the inside path. To me, on this one, I’m watching Mikko go up the ice, he’s got a head of steam, he’s getting to the right area, he’s got the inside path on Vlasic on the post. It looks to me like Mikko’s going to get there first, so they let it go. “To me, it’s similar plays: The guy on the inside got the call. One was against us. One was in our favor.” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer basically stood up for his players, saying: “Whether or not I thought it was doesn’t matter. Our players did. They let up. They relaxed for a minute and it obviously wasn’t. So the lesson in that was don’t assume anything in the playoffs. Play, and make sure.” The series resumes with Game 3 in Denver on Tuesday night. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is waiting today for league officials to say they are sorry for what he believes was a critical officiating mistake Sunday. At least, according to ESPN, that was Vlasic’s sarcastic response to a question about the non-icing call that led to an Avalanche goal in the second period of Colorado's 4-3 win, which tied up the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal 1-1. “I'm taking the high road. Waiting for the apology," Vlasic said when asked about the call. Earlier in the week, Vegas general manager George McPhee said league officials apologized for the five-minute penalty given to Cody Eakin that led to four Sharks power play goals and a 5-4 San Jose win in Game 7. The referees hadn’t signaled a minor penalty, but then huddled and handed out a major penalty. On the play in Game 2 of the Avs-Sharks series, Vlasic and Mikko Rantanen were racing for a possible icing call in a 1-1 game. No whistle came, meaning officials believed Rantanen won the race. HURRICANES' LATEST UNLIKELY HERO:Backup goalie lifts them to win But the Sharks had assumed the icing, and didn’t react quickly enough to the non-call. Gabriel Landeskog’s first shot was stopped by San Jose goalie Martin Jones. But Tyson Barrie eventually scored to give the Avs a lead they never lost. While the Sharks thought it was icing, the Avs saw it differently. "It was the exact same as the icing here the other night, when (Erik) Karlsson had the inside track on (J.T.) Compher," Avs coach Jared Bednar said. "They're in a race. They blow it down for icing because Karlsson had the inside path. To me, on this one, I'm watching Mikko [Rantanen] go up the ice, he's got a head of steam, he's getting to the right area, he's got the inside path on Vlasic on the post. It looks to me like Mikko's going to get their first, so they let it go. To me, it's similar plays: The guy on the inside got the call. One was against us. One was in our favor." San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said his opinion didn’t matter. His only take is that in the playoffs you can’t assume a call will be made. In other words, the Sharks should have played as if they weren’t going to get the call. They didn’t.<doc-sep>Marc-Edouard Vlasic is expecting to hear from the NHL after what he believes was a missed call Sunday. The San Jose Sharks defenseman made his feelings known postgame after an apparent icing infraction went unwhistled in Game 2 against the Colorado Avalanche. Was that icing on the Barrie goal? Vlasic: “It was the right call.” Q: It was the right call? “Absolutely. I’ll take the high road and wait for the league’s apology tomorrow.” — Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) April 29, 2019 Late in the second period, Vlasic appeared to beat Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen to the puck after Colorado blue-liner Nikita Zadorov dumped it into the Sharks' zone from his own end. Tyson Barrie scored moments later to give the Avalanche the lead. San Jose head coach Peter DeBoer believes there's something his club can learn from the play. "Whether I thought it was (icing) or not doesn't matter; our players did," the bench boss said. "They let up. They relaxed for a minute. It obviously wasn't. I guess the lesson in that is don't assume anything in the playoffs. Play, and make sure." The Avalanche ultimately prevailed 4-3 to even the series at one game apiece. Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee said earlier this week the NHL apologized to his team for the controversial cross-checking major given to Cody Eakin in Game 7 of Vegas' first-round series against San Jose. The Sharks scored four times on that power play and went on to win the game.<doc-sep>Barclay Goodrow’s goal with 1:41 remaining in overtime sent the San Jose Sharks into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night with a 5-4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. But social media was buzzing about something that happened earlier in the game: a cross-check in the third period against San Jose’s Joe Pavelski. Graphic video showed the back of Pavelski’s head striking hard against the ice, and when he was helped off minutes later, his face was bloodied. GRAPHIC VIDEO: NHL'S WEEGAR KNOCKS OUT PLAYER WHO GAVE HIM CONCUSSION EARLIER IN SEASON Reporters and fans immediately debated whether the officials made the right call on the penalty. "That might become of the scrutinized calls in hockey history," Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun wrote on Twitter. "Did the referee over-correct because of how bad Pavelski was hurt? It will never stop being talked about." "Praying for Pavelski after this cheap shot," another observer wrote. "Just a devastating hit." "Most incredible part is I’m not sure Eakin deserved any penalty," journalist Damien Cox wrote. "I'd like to see it again, but what happened to Pavelski may have been an accident. If so, Golden Knights May have a legitimate gripe here." Prior to the hit, San Jose trailed 3-0 in the third. But the Sharks scored four times on a major penalty resulting from the hit on Pavelski that came with 10:47 to play in regulation. Vegas’s Cody Eakin was ejected for the hit. The officials gave him a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct. The Sharks then got two goals from Logan Couture, one from Tomas Hertl and then the tiebreaker from Kevin Labanc. But the Golden Knights tied it again in the final minute of regulation. Reilly Smith set up Jonathan Marchessault to make it 4-4 and set up overtime. It was the third-latest tying goal in a Game 7 in NHL history. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In the overtime period, Goodrow took a pass from Erik Karlsson and scored the game-winner that set off a wild celebration in San Jose. Eakin and Max Pacioretty also scored for Vegas. The Sharks overcame a 3-1 deficit in the series and will next face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference semifinals. The Associated Press contributed to this story.<doc-sep>
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hopefully the cleanup crew at SAP Center has some extra mop buckets. It's going to take a few to soak up the sarcasm that dripped from San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic in discussing an icing call that wasn't whistled by the officials and led to a critical Colorado Avalanche goal in their 4-3 win in Game 2 on Sunday. "I'll take the high road and wait for the league's apology tomorrow," Vlasic said. So it wasn't the right call? "I'm taking the high road. Waiting for the apology tomorrow," Vlasic reiterated in what was presumably a reference to the NHL's apology to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks' first-round opponent, after the on-ice officials mistakenly handed the Sharks a major penalty power-play that turned the tide in Game 7. On this play in Game 2, with the Sharks and Avalanche tied 1-1 in the second period, Vlasic and Mikko Rantanen raced for the puck on what would have been an icing violation against Colorado. The on-ice officials didn't whistle the play down, as they believed Rantanen had broken up the icing. But the Sharks hesitated, looking like they assumed one was coming. That led to a point-blank shot from Gabriel Landeskog that was stopped by goalie Martin Jones, but he couldn't stop the follow-up blast from defenseman Tyson Barrie, giving the Avalanche a lead they did not surrender. While Vlasic disagreed with the call, Colorado coach Jared Bednar felt differently. "It was the exact same as the icing here the other night, when [Erik] Karlsson had the inside track on [J.T.] Compher," Bednar said. "They're in a race. They blow it down for icing because Karlsson had the inside path. To me, on this one, I'm watching Mikko [Rantanen] go up the ice, he's got a head of steam, he's getting to the right area, he's got the inside path on Vlasic on the post. It looks to me like Mikko's going to get their first, so they let it go. To me, it's similar plays: The guy on the inside got the call. One was against us. One was in our favor." Sharks coach Peter DeBoer split the difference, saying it was obvious that his players thought there should have been a whistle, but it was also obvious that they needed to play until they heard one. "Whether or not I thought it was doesn't matter," he said. "Our players did. They let up. They relaxed for a minute, and it obviously wasn't. So the lesson in that was don't assume anything in the playoffs. Play and make sure." The Avalanche tied the series 1-1, and Game 3 is Tuesday in Denver. The Avs lost Game 1 against Calgary in the first round and then roared back with four straight wins. The Sharks will go on the road tied 1-1 for the sixth time in franchise history. They won each of the previous five such series.