Forward Joe Pavelski was helped off the ice in the Dallas Stars’ playoff opener against the Minnesota Wild after enduring a late, hard hit from Matt Dumba.
With about eight minutes left in the second period, Dumba collided with Pavelski after the Stars took control of the contest with two power play goals. As Pavelski looked to make his way toward the opposing net, Dumba jumped to deliver the hit on the Stars forward.
Matt Dumba lays a late hit on Joe Pavelski and receives a 2-minute minor penalty for roughing. pic.twitter.com/a6XTWf4Hup
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 18, 2023
Pavelski’s head appeared to hit the ice after the hit and he stayed down as a scrum occurred around him. Pavelski had to be helped off the ice.
After the hit occurred, Dumba was given a two-minute minor penalty for roughing, while Dallas’ Max Domi was given a two-minute roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. The on-ice call was for a five-minute major, but it was reduced to a two-minute penalty after a review by the league.
Minnesota went on to tie the game up at 2-2 a few minutes after the penalties were assessed. The score held up and forced the game into double overtime, where the Wild came away with a 3-2 victory off a late goal from Ryan Hartman. When asked about Pavelski after the game, Stars coach Pete DeBoer said he was unsure of the forward’s status for Wednesday’s rematch at American Airlines Center.
“No, I’m not confident for Game 2,” DeBoer said. “He’s OK, he’s walking out of the rink on his own OK.”
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger felt the hit merited a different officiating outcome.
“From what I saw, it looked like a major penalty … I don’t think my opinion is going to change,” Oettinger said. “It’s tough, you lose your leader like that, a guy we need, to a cheap shot like that.”
Minnesota coach Dean Evason defended his player and the call in an ESPN interview during the game.
“It’s a body check,” Evason said. “Obviously the refs saw it correctly. We saw it. The stick hit him in the head. Unfortunately it got him in the chin.
“Yeah, you never like to see anybody get hurt. We want to be physical for sure and we’re going to continue to do that.”
A play involving Pavelski in the 2019 playoffs helped lead the NHL to expand its video review process to allow officials to review major penalties to determine whether the call was accurate. That change gave referees the option to reduce a major penalty to a minor, as happened in the first-round game Monday night.
Had that expanded process been in use in 2019, it could have potentially changed the complexion of Game 7 in a first-round series between Vegas and San Jose after Pavelski, then with the Sharks, took a hit from Cody Eakin.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
