Programming note: Sharks-Avalanche coverage gets underway tonight at 5:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on Comcast SportsNet California
DENVER – Suspended Sharks forward John Scott said on Tuesday morning that he accepts his two-game ban, although he doesn’t agree with it.
To him, going after Ducks tough guy Tim Jackman was the same as Jackman initiating a fight with Scott a little more than two minutes into the game on Sunday night in Anaheim.
“It’s one of those things where he jumped me in the first and didn’t give me a chance, so I was kind of just returning the favor,” Scott said. “I asked him to fight. The situations were eerily similar, so that’s what leaves me scratching my head.”
Of course, Jackman also strangely went after Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic earlier in the third period, and that was on Scott’s mind as well when he legally came off of the bench and made a beeline for Jackman in the neutral zone.
“We obviously got up 3-0, 4-0, and they took liberties with our guys,” Scott said. “That’s where I come in, man-to-man with their tough guy and we settle it. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, the way it’s always been done and it didn’t quite work out that way.
“[The referees] should have taken care of it earlier when he went after [Vlasic]. They should have kicked him out of the game, but if the refs don’t take care of it, that’s kind of my job. I’ve got to stick up and do my job.”
Scott was asked if there was a temptation to go after one of the Ducks’ skilled players, rather than Jackman. In the 2013 preseason, Scott asked Phil Kessel to fight after things got rough in a game between his Sabres and Kessel’s Maple Leafs.
Kessel ended up getting a three-game preseason suspension for slashing the six-foot-eight Scott, presumably to avoid fighting him.
“I did that a few years ago and that did not end well. It was a little different,” Scott said. “But I think it’s kind of gutless to go after a guy like [Vlasic] when you’re a tough guy. Obviously I don’t condone me going after Kessel, but those were different situations.”
Scott will miss Tuesday’s game against Colorado and Thursday in Minnesota. He’s eligible to return on Saturday when the Sharks play at home against the Islanders.
“The league made a decision and we respect their decision. John will get ready to play when we get home from the road trip,” Todd McLellan said.
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Tye McGinn will get back into the lineup in place of Scott on the fourth line.
Antti Niemi will make back-to-back starts for the second time this season after his 33-save effort in the 4-1 win over the Ducks.
“Nemo played, in my opinion, his best game of the season in Anaheim," McLellan said.
