Quenneville: NHL said refs should have allowed goal

Joel Quenneville said the NHL told him that the referees should not have reversed a first-period goal scored by Brandon Mashinter on Tuesday during the Blackhawks' 2-0 loss to San Jose at the United Center.

"Did they agree with the call? No," the head coach said.

In an email to the Daily Herald, a league official said - per NHL policy - it would not "comment on private conversations with team personnel" or "publicly second-guess judgement calls by our officials."

Mashinter appeared to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead when the puck bounced off his right leg, but after a San Jose challenge, the referees ruled Dennis Rasmussen interfered with goalie Martin Jones.

It was the second goal in three games the Hawks had taken off the scoreboard after a coach's challenge, and the third in less than a month.

Quenneville was asked if others are frustrated with how the replay system has worked thus far.

"I just think we had a couple of occurrences in a short amount of time, so obviously a little frustration there," he said. "But we did speak to the league and got some (clarification) on the play.

"There's education (going on) across the board and you've got a lot of people in the middle of the process making the decisions. … As long as we get it right is what we're looking for."

Commissioner Gary Bettman first said reversals should only be made for egregious errors, but then seemed to contradict himself when he said: "The standard that we've told everybody is … is there a better call?"

Bettman added it's OK to slow the play down and for the referee to think: "'You know what? If I could have seen that at the time, I would have made a better call.' That's what it's supposed to be used for. …

"The NFL doesn't use replay for pass interference. It's a pure judgment call. We're trying to use it with a judgment call. And our belief … (is) it's best left with the officials who are … officiating the entire game (and not for replay officials in Toronto)."

White House visit:

President Obama will honor the Blackhawks for their 2015 Stanley Cup championship in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, Feb. 18. It is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CDT.

He said it:

"I think he felt intimidated about how well my locks were coming in."

- Andrew Shaw on Patrick Sharp cutting his hair

He said it II:

"That's the biggest surprise to me, especially with some of those teeth that always seem to fall out and he's got cuts all over his face. But good for him - he's doing a good job with it."

- Patrick Sharp on Duncan Keith's many magazine photo shoots