Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen was given a game misconduct in Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames for delivering another questionable hit.
With less than a minute remaining in the second period, Rantanen hit Flames forward Matt Coronato from behind and headfirst into the boards. Coronato immediately left the ice with a bloody nose as teammate Jonathan Huberdeau went after Rantanen with play whistled dead.
The Flames forward returned to the game early in the third period.
Along with the game misconduct, Rantanen was given an additional penalty for fighting Huberdeau, who received a 10-minute misconduct for retaliating to the hit.
It is the second time in the past three Dallas Stars games that Rantanen has been ejected for dealing a hit from behind. On Tuesday against the New York Islanders, Dallas’s star forward sent defenceman Alexander Romanov sprawling into the boards.
Romanov immediately appeared to be in pain and required assistance to skate off the ice. Rantanen was assessed a five-minute major for boarding and ejected from the game. No further discipline was enforced. Rantanen was seemingly knocked off balance by Scott Mayfield’s stick.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy was insistent that Rantanen should have been more aware of the situation.
“When you see the number, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. You don’t go through the guy,” Roy said, post-game. “To me, it’s disrespectful for our guys. … That should not be part of our game.”
During the second intermission on Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman explained that the NHL felt strongly that the contact with Mayfield put Rantanen in a bad position, which is why he was not suspended or fined.
“This one tonight, there’s no excuse for that,” Friedman said. “You can’t do that. You can’t hit a guy in the numbers like that. I think now the biggest question is: Is there supplemental discipline for that?”
