There was no shortage of ways to describe Ryane Clowe’s interference-from-the-bench play after San Jose’s 6-5 shootout win over Los Angeles.
Kings forward Jarret Stoll said “nobody’s even seen anything like that,” while defenseman Drew Doughty called it “shocking.”
And it’s true -- nobody has seen a player on the bench reach over and break up a potential rush. That was unprecedented.
Not unprecedented, though? A Sharks player getting involved while seated on the pine.
On Jan. 31, San Jose’s 6-0 win over Columbus was marred by accusation as Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards claimed someone from the Sharks bench squirted Derek Dorsett with a water bottle.
“As [Derek] Dorsett is coming down the ice, you can see a water bottle squirted on him from San Jose’s bench,” Richards told CSN Bay Area. “I don’t know if that’s what set him off, but as he’s carrying the puck up the ice, that happens.”
Here’s video of the alleged incident:
At the 28 second mark you can see Dorsett gesturing at the Sharks bench, presumably in response to the alleged squirt. At :57 (the replay portion of the video), there’s pretty solid evidence of a water bottle being directed at him.
While it seems unlikely Clowe will be subjected to supplemental discipline for his actions, could the Sharks be facing some sort of team fine? Heck, they could be put in the repeat offender category.