Sharks mad at NHL officials for using rule book

Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesLast night, Patrick Marleau was kicked out of the faceoff circle and had a faceoff violation delay of game penalty called on him. The resulting power-play led to a Ryan O’Reilly goal and - in the mind of Sharks coach Bob Boughner - the Blues complete victory.

Never mind that his team could’ve defended better on the penalty kill. Never mind that O’Reilly scored his goal at 4:22 into the third period to put the Blues up by one, meaning that the Sharks had over 15 and a half minutes to tie the game and potentially win.

No, that one call sank the team.

Here’s what the NHL Rule Book, in rule 76.6, says about the delay of game penalty for a…