Cronin: Ducks were told G Gibson was ejected when he wasn't

Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson saw his night end early on Tuesday after he skated to the other end of the ice to try to fight Chicago Blackhawks netminder Petr Mrazek during a scuffle with the Ducks down 6-2 in the third period. 

Gibson, who was unable to engage with Mrazek, was given a two-minute minor penalty for leaving the crease and a game misconduct. Having been told Gibson was ejected, Ducks head coach Greg Cronin replaced him with Lukas Dostal. Mrazek, who received the same two penalties, remained in the game.

Cronin told reporters post-game that he was incorrectly told Gibson was ejected, leading to him making an unnecessary change. 

“Somebody told me he was out of the game,” Cronin said. “But he wasn’t. He was getting undressed, and then they came in and said, ‘[Gibson’s] not thrown out.’ I said, ‘Well, somebody told him he was.’ I was asking them what happened. How does he get the message that he’s tossed out of the game and trying to sort out who was in the box and who was coming out first?

"He was given a two and a 10 (minute penalty), but he could have stayed in the net.”

A total of 88 penalty minutes were handed out in Tuesday's 7-2 win for the Blackhawks, with 70 of them stemming from the third-period skirmish. 

Gibson, 30, allowed six goals on 26 shots against before his exit. He has a 13-22-2 record this season with a .893 save percentage and a 3.31 goals-against average.

Dostal allowed a goal on a Blackhawks power play that followed the massive number of penalties handed out, finishing with four saves on five shots. The 23-year-old has a 10-17-1 record this season with a 3.62 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

Despite Tuesday's loss,. the Ducks remain eight points ahead of the Blackhawks for third-last in the Western Conference. Chicago moved out of a tie for last place in the NHL with the win, leaving the San Jose Sharks alone at No. 32.