David Quinn ejected in Sharks’ blowout loss to Washington Capitals
SAN JOSE — Coach David Quinn could face supplemental discipline from the NHL after he was ejected from Saturday’s game between the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals at SAP Center.
Quinn’s ejection took place shortly after Kevin Labanc was called for clipping at the 5:45 mark of the third period.
After the penalty call, referee Gord Dwyer came over to the Sharks’ bench to speak with a clearly agitated Quinn, who pointed in Dwyer’s face and shouted multiple expletives at him before he was kicked out of the game.
Quinn then shouted some more choice words to Dwyer before he left the Sharks’ bench and walked back to the team’s dressing room.
The Sharks went on to lose 8-3.
Officially, Quinn was given a game misconduct for abuse of an official. An NHL spokesman said Colin Campbell, the league’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations, will review the incident and decide if it merits further discipline, which could come down as soon as Sunday.
ICYMI, here’s why David Quinn was tossed. #sjsharks ( @NBCSSharks ) pic.twitter.com/a99OdjLZ56
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) March 5, 2023
Quinn said he regretted his actions.
“I’m embarrassed. You shouldn’t act like that as a coach and I want to apologize to our team,” he said. “It’s not how I certainly want to act and it’s an emotional game. These refs work hard, they do a good job and it’s something that should never happen. So I’m embarrassed by that.
“I can’t promise you it won’t happen again, because it does get emotional, but I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Dwyer was the only referee as Chris Schlenker was injured partway through the game and could not return.
“It’s a hard game to ref with two and (Dwyer) was put in a tough position with being a one-man gang,” Quinn said. “So, I should have been more aware of that too.”
With the ensuing faceoff in the Sharks’ zone, the Capitals scored just five seconds after the start of the Labanc penalty, with TJ Oshie scoring his 16th of the season off assists from Alex Ovechkin and Rasmus Sandin. That gave Washington a 5-2 lead, and the Capitals had a 6-3 lead at the mid-way point of the third period.
The ejection was the first for a Sharks coach since Nov. 24, 2018, when Pete DeBoer was given a game misconduct for abuse of an official in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks lost 6-0. Former Sharks forward Evander Kane was also ejected from that game for abuse of an official.