DALLAS — Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday, indicating he could be facing a suspension with his team on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference Final.
Benn was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking Golden Knights captain Mark Stone only 1:53 into his team’s 4-0 Game 3 loss Tuesday. The two players got tangled up, and Benn cross-checked Stone while the latter was laying on the ice.
The Knights scored on the subsequent power play to take a 2-0 lead.
“We wanted to make him pay, for sure, seeing what he did there,” center Nicolas Roy said. “I think it for sure was a major.”
The Stars followed their captain’s lead and didn’t play a disciplined brand of hockey the rest of the night. They gave the Knights six power plays in a 4-0 loss that dug them a 3-0 series hole.
“(Benn) made a mistake,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “He feels really badly about it. I don’t think anyone in the building feels worse than he does about it. I’m not going to pile on him. He’s been a leader here for his entire career. Leads by example every day on and off the ice. Made a mistake. Fortunately Mark Stone is OK, and we’ve got to live with the consequences.”
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