No supplemental discipline coming for Oilers’ Darnell Nurse after slash on Stars’ Roope Hintz

According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Darnell Nurse will not face any additional discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety for his slash on Stars forward Roope Hintz in the third period of Game 2.

After waiting all morning to see if Darnell Nurse was going to get a phone call from the NHL DoPS for slashing Roope Hintz, Mark Spector tweeted that No. 25 would not even be hearing from the league about the slash. Spector tweeted, “Not sure what’s been reported, but the NHL Department of Player Safety will not be speaking with Darnell Nurse today. No suspension or discipline forthcoming, I am told.”

Despite complaints from the Stars after the game, Nurse avoids a suspension or fine, keeping him in the lineup for Game 3 as the Western Conference Final shifts back to Edmonton. While a clear penalty, it was hard to find many people outside of Stars fans (and Flames/Canucks) who thought the incident was worth a five-minute major. When asked about the slash, Stars head coach Pete DeBoer was clearly unhappy with the call:

“I’ll answer your question with a question: Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that, that it’s not a five-minute major?” he said. “That’s my answer to your question.”

In the dressing room, Stars forward Mason Marchment said he felt there “was some intent” in Nurse’s actions, and that Dallas would be taking some numbers with them to Edmonton.

“He’s one of our best players, and now he’s done for the game, right?” Marchment said. “I don’t really want to tell them what they should do or what they should have called, but that’s one of our best players, and I don’t think it was enough… A lot of that stuff, you just keep in the back of your mind, and if the opportunity presents itself, then you take your chance. We’ve got a long series here.”

Leading up to the penalty, Hintz worked his way to the front of the Oilers’ net and gave Nurse a cross-check from behind before the defencemen turned around and retaliated with a whack to the left leg. The slash, which occurred at 3:46 of the third period, drew a two-minute minor penalty after initially being called a five-minute major. Officials reviewed the tape to see what actually happened and downgraded the punishment. Hintz remained on the ice for a couple of minutes as the athletic trainer attended to him before Mikael Granlund and Lian Bichsel helped him down the tunnel.

There was no update from the Stars on Hintz’s status following the game, nor as I write this post, but Sam Nestler reported that “[The] team is waiting on test results to see if he can travel to Edmonton.” Hintz played 12:08 before he was forced to exit, and it would be a massive loss to the Stars’ lineup if he actually can’t travel for Games 3 and 4. The 28-year-old forward entered Friday’s game with five goals and six assists in 14 playoff games for the Stars.