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Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill avoids fine with filtered comments on officiating in Blackhawks
Photo credit: AP/Jay Cohen
Head Coach Jeff Blashill of the Chicago Blackhawks took the high road postgame; instead of calling out officials, he said he'd challenge the call on the Morgan Rielly goal "100 of 100 times."
Last night's Blackhawks game was a contentious affair in the United Center.
Spencer Knight would backstop the Blackhawks to their latest win against a team that's been a perennial contender in the NHL.
Amidst news of the loss of the captain, the Blackhawks announce he'll be out for an extended period of time. This would be the backdrop to the team's thrashing of the Maple Leafs in an Original Six matchup.
The Blackhawks would have surprising contributions across the lineup, including Louis Crevier's assist on the Colton Dach goal. But one issue that arose was the Morgan Rielly goal, which looked to be the result of a high-stick beforehand:
Jeff Blashill would challenge it 100 of 100 times:
The Toronto Maple Leafs are bailed out by the NHL again Saturday against the Blackhawks
Morgan Rielly's 2-1 goal was a measure of largesse from Bettman and the NHL. It allowed the team to build momentum and put the thought of a Blackhawks rebound as a foregone conclusion; it wouldn't happen.
However, Blashill's team was resilient enough to come back from their deficit and find a way to win the game in the third period.
Unlike someone like John Tortorella, who would unleash a tirade that would cost a team a huge fine or himself $250K for being right, he took a measured risk and confirmed what we thought: he'd challenge it like it should've been.
Fortunately, the team had Frank Nazar, Teuvo Teravainen, and the duo of Colton Dach and Louis Crevier to help secure a regulation win and avoid overtime.
Nazar had returned to the lineup from injury last night as a game-time decision Saturday night, and it paid off.
Tyler Bertuzzi remains out of the lineup and didn't play against his former team last night.
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