Marc Crawford criticizes officials for missing throwing the stick penalty

Chicago 5, Dallas 3

Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford couldn’t help but lose it a bit in a press conference after the team’s 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

Crawford was upset because he feels that referees missed what should have been a penalty shot-worthy infraction. While the score was still 4-3 Chicago with 40 seconds left in the game, Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook appeared to throw his stick as Trevor Daley skated by. If that’s indeed true, then the Stars should have been awarded a penalty shot. Such an opportunity could have allowed Dallas to tie the game, so this allegedly missed call could have cost Dallas 1-2 points.

Mark Stepneski of ESPN Dallas gathered some of Crawford’s thoughts that referees failed to enforce NHL Rule 53.6.

“How do guys miss that? That is the easiest call, the easiest call in the book to make,” Crawford said. “Because when a guy throws the stick, it’s an automatic penalty shot. That’s the call. That’s the call. Everybody in the crowd saw it. Everybody in the broadcast saw it. Everybody on the benches saw it. But nobody else saw it. The people that were important didn’t see it. At the end of the day, it’s a tough loss for our team but at the same time it’s frustrating when you miss obvious calls like that.”

Patrick Sharp scored an empty net goal shortly after to clinch a 5-3 win for the Blackhawks after the Stars almost came back from 3-0 and 4-1 leads.