Eric Staal was heated about Josh Morrissey not getting a penalty for cross-checking him in the head

BarDown Staff

NHL on NBC

Suspensions and questionable (or dirty) plays have casted a shadow over the NHL playoffs thus far.

Each and every night, it seems like there's at least one play the Department of Player Safety should look at and whether they do or don't is a controversial conversation in itself.

Tuesday night, that theme held true as Josh Morrissey cross-checked Eric Staal up high and got away with it. After the game, Staal was heated about the non-call and rightly so.

Staal on Morrissey: "He cross-checked me in the neck. There’s not much more you can say. Everyone saw it. I don’t know how no one with stripes saw it but that’s besides itself. We go from should be a 5-on-3 to a goal against eventually and that’s the game-winner."
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 18, 2018

Staal on the ref: “He apologized. I’m not looking for an apology. I’m in the middle of the game, why would I want an apology? It’s frustrating. It is what it is. Tough. I’m all for playing hard, I love it, it’s part of the game but that wasn’t a good play."
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 18, 2018

The cross-check occurred with the Wild on the power play, so if it was called it would have been a 5-on-3. Instead, the Jets killed off the penalty and scored late in the period with Morrissey getting an assist on the eventual game-winner.

When he and his head coach Paul Maurice were asked about the play, here's what they had to say:

#NHLJets HC Paul Maurice provided his opinion on the Josh Morrissey cross-check on #mnwild C Eric Staal: pic.twitter.com/jIKXPv4Os3
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports) April 18, 2018

Josh Morrissey on his cross-check to Eric Staal's head: "Complete accident. Trying to box out in front of the net on the PK. He's a big guy and my stick ended up getting up a little bit on him. Would never try to do that to anybody. I'm not a dirty player."
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) April 18, 2018

(H/T: Michael Russo)