Blackhawks baffled by Connor Bedard’s misconduct penalty in loss to Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. — NHL players and referees have a special form of communication that features plenty of profanity and angry quips exchanged back and forth. It’s accepted and, to some extent, embraced by both parties.

So Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks were baffled when referee Chris Rooney gave Bedard a 10-minute “abuse of officials” misconduct penalty at a critical moment in the Hawks’ 4-2 loss Thursday against the Sharks.

“I’ve heard worse,” interim coach Anders Sorensen said.

Said Bedard: “I guess he just didn’t like what I said. That’s how it goes.”

Bedard was upset about no penalty being called when he was clearly tripped by Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro while trying to cut toward the net in a 3-2 game. He made a comment to Rooney upon returning to the bench with 10:50 left in the third period.

“I didn’t think [what I said] was too crazy,” said Bedard, who agreed he was surprised by the call. “But obviously, he’s the ref, so he gets to make that call. So you’ve got to live with it.”

The Hawks were left trying to find an equalizer without their leading scorer available, and Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped Ryan Donato a few times before a Tyler Toffoli empty-net goal with 33 seconds left sealed the result. Bedard wasn’t released from the box until the stoppage following that goal.

The first 50 minutes of the game — and especially the first 20 — weren’t great for the Hawks, either. Frank Nazar, who scored his sixth goal of the season, was really the only player making things happen.

Rookie defenseman Artyom Levshunov hit the post in the second period but looked more passive overall than in his debut Monday. Sorensen said Levshunov will encounter a “learning curve” to find consistency in the NHL.

The gap between the Hawks and Sharks, the bottom two teams in the league, narrowed to four points with the Sharks’ victory.

Dickinson back in mix

Hawks forward Jason Dickinson, walking down the tunnel after suffering an injury Feb. 5 against the Oilers, already had a strong suspicion it was a high-ankle sprain.

“[Our doctor] confirmed it when I got back there, and he gave me the expected timeline,” Dickinson said Wednesday. “Sure enough, it was pretty much bang-on what he had warned me. I didn’t think it would be, but I guess he knows something.”

Indeed, the Hawks’ best defensive forward missed almost exactly a month — 11 games of the NHL regular-season schedule — before returning Monday against the Avalanche.

“All things considered, it was the best of the possibilities,” he added. “I could easily be looking at six months for a knee or something. High ankle is not easy because they linger for a while, so you’ve got to manage it. But at least it’s not structural damage that needs a lot of time [to recover].”

Interim coach Anders Sorensen tried slotting Dickinson, traditionally a center, as the first-line right wing next to Bedard, but he abandoned that idea mid-game Thursday when it became clear it wasn’t clicking.