Dallas Stars steaming about double standard ‘hit job’ on Roope Hintz
The Dallas Stars waltz to the Stanley Cup Final could potentially be derailed by a simple slash to the “lower body” to one of their top scoring forwards.
In the world of heavy knee and shin pads, a slash normally doesn’t do enough damage to derail an NHL player; but the slash delivered by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in the third period to the lower left leg of Stars center Roope Hintz appeared to do the job of a mob hit.
“We didn’t like it,” Stars center Jamie Benn said.
“There was some intent, obviously,” Stars forward Mason Marchment said. “He’s one of our best players and now he’s done for the game, right?”
Maybe more.
The Oilers defeated the Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday night at the American Airlines Center, 3-0. The series is tied at one, and Game 3 is 2 p.m. on Sunday in sunny Edmonton, Alberta.
The Oilers probably feel they should be up in this series, 2-0. Other than the third period of Game 1, the Oilers have out-played the Stars through two games.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer offered no update on Hintz’s condition; whatever update the coach delivers for the rest of the series will be a lie. Go with “lower body injury” to the “flu,” or maybe “COVID.”
If Hintz can’t go in Game 3, Nurse all but placed a “HIT ME HERE” on the back of his sweater, his face or chest.
“A lot of that stuff you keep in the back of your mind, and if the opportunity presents itself you take your chance,” Marchment said. “But we have a long series here.”
Marchment conveyed what most of his teammates are feeling: This was a dirty hit.
At the 3:46 mark of the third period in front of Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, Nurse gave Hintz a good whack at his lower left leg with his stick, and may have done more damage than he intended. Hintz immediately dropped to the ice, and didn’t move as the referees originally called Nurse for a major penalty; they do that so they can review the play.
Hintz had to be helped off the ice, and did not put any weight on his leg as he skated off. Officials reviewed the play, and reduced the call to a two-minute penalty, which went over really well with the home crowd.
The slash the Stars players and coaches don’t like, but they get it. It’s hockey. It’s the playoffs. It’s the perceived double standard from the officials that they are irate over.
“I don’t want to ... tell (the officials) what they should do, or what they should have called,” Marchment said, “but that’s one of our best players and I don’t think it was enough.”
Said DeBoer, “I’ll answer your question with a question: Does anyone in this room think if (Oilers All-Star forward) Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that it’s not a five-minute major? So, that’s my answer.”
If McDavid so much as catches a sniffle, someone on the other team is getting a penalty, or maybe banishment from the NHL. Hintz is a top end NHL forward, but he’s not going to receive the “Don’t Touch The Goods” treatment afforded to guys like McDavid.
If Hintz is out for more than a game, this is a major loss for a team that likes to sell that it has deep scoring but really doesn’t. Thus far in the playoffs, this has been a Finn-heavy scoring team, and now it may be without out of those Finnish forwards.
With 11 points in 15 games, Hintz is the third-leading scorer on the team during this playoff run. His five goals are tied for the second-most in the lineup.
The Stars will need All-Star forward Jason Robertson, who is coming off a knee injury suffered in the last game of the regular season, to do something more than be a warm body on the ice. After missing the first round of the playoffs recovering from that injury, he returned but hasn’t looked the same.
He scored 80 points in the regular season, but thus far in eight playoff games he has two assists and no goals. Time to show up, or be a healthy scratch.
The series is tied at one and heading to one of the hardest, and best, places in the league to play a game.
This was never actually going to be a waltz to the Stanley Cup Final, and now the Stars may be down one of their best players.
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 10:45 PM.
