New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy was livid at Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen after his hit on Isles defenceman Alexander Romanov late in Tuesday’s game.
With 28 seconds to go and the Islanders leading 3-2, Rantanen clipped Romanov from behind and sent the blueliner hard into the boards face-first. He was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit, which visibly angered Roy.
The Islanders’ bench boss appeared to lean in and yell directly at Rantanen as he made his way down the tunnel after the ejection.
Roy did not let up after the game.
“You see the numbers, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. I mean, you don’t go through the guy,” said Roy.
“I’m proud of the way that our guys handled it afterwards. No one was happy to see someone get hurt like this. It’s disrespectful for our guy.”
Roy noted that he briefly coached Rantanen as a rookie in 2015-16, his final season with Colorado, and said playing dirty was not his style.
“But at the same time, that should not be part of our game,” Roy said.
Roy did not have an update on Romanov, who appeared to be in a great deal of pain but was able to skate off the ice under his own power after the hit.
“Whenever your friend gets hurt, it’s way more important than hockey,” teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau said.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan defended Rantanen because he believed his skate was clipped by Islanders defenceman Scott Mayfield’s to cause him to raise his arms for balance right before contact with Romanov that in turn increased the intensity of the hit.
“It’s just one of those hockey plays that happened. I hope Romanov is okay,” Gulutzan said. “It’s a dangerous play for everybody.”
On Wednesday, Rantanen told reporters via The Dallas Morning News’ Lia Assimakopoulos that he reached out to Romanov to wish him well and let him know he did not intend anything malicious on the play.
Mikko Rantanen said he reached out to Alexander Romanov to wish him well and tell him he didn’t intend anything malicious by the hit. He said he hasn’t heard back yet.
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) November 19, 2025
The Stars clearly understood why the Islanders were so upset.
“They’re sticking up for their guy. We have to respect that,” said forward Jason Robertson, who had two goals. “It’s just unfortunate it happened.”
The Isles added another statement victory to their remarkable road trip Tuesday night, turning back one of the NHL’s best teams in a tense finish with a little help from the league’s replay review crew.
The third period of their 3-2 win over Dallas was about as action-packed as a regular season game could be, all the way down to the final tenth of a second when the Stars were awarded the tying goal on the ice only to have it taken away after the video review at league headquarters.
As Robertson darted toward the net with the final seconds ticking away, Wyatt Johnson put a shot on the net as Robertson ran into goalie David Rittich, who fell on his back as the puck went in and the arena erupted. But the NHL’s Situation Room initiated a review and ruled that Robertson impaired Rittich’s ability to play the puck. The Stars contended that Robertson was pushed by an Islanders player into the crease.
“Our side’s going to say Robo got pushed. Their side’s going to say Robo ran into the goalie,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. ”It kind of is what it is in an 82-game season.”
