On opening night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars took a little bit of extra time — nearly two overtime periods, to be exact — to settle the score of Game 1. But, the score wasn’t the biggest talking point of the night. Instead, Wild defenseman Matt Dumba’s hit on Stars forward Joe Pavelski took the spotlight.
Pavelski’s head landed on the ice after a stick hit him in the face. And, when the forward was being helped off the ice, he clearly seemed to be wobbling, which is a pretty clear indicator of a concussion.
After the hit was reviewed inside the game, Dumba avoided a five-minute major penalty — which is usually handed out if the player takes his feet off the ice or makes direct head contact. The impactful hit can be viewed below.
Minnesota Wild record (’22-’23): 46-25-11, 103 points
The referees did not feel that Dumba’s hit on Pavelski was a headshot, so no major penalty was handed out. But, there was a scrum in the corner after the hit and the play went to four-on-four immediately afterward.
The NHL has been trying to remove headshots from the game and decrease injuries for some time. But, critics — including The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf — have been calling for a rule adjustment to protect the players from injury.
The Minnesota Wild won the game 3-2 in double overtime. Dumba and his team will play the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of their series on April 19 before the best of seven heads to Minnesota for Game 3.
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