The Dallas Stars took a 2-1 lead in their second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-2 victory at home last night. However, after the game, Stars forward Mason Marchment faced heavy criticism for slashing one of the officials.
The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Dallas Stars and the Winnipeg Jets is well underway. After the teams split the first two games in Winnipeg, Game 3 in Dallas went to the Stars following a 5-2 win in which Mikko Rantanen tallied one goal and two assists. But it wasn’t Rantanen’s performance that became the main talking point after the game.
Mason Marchment slashes an official
Instead, Dallas forward Mason Marchment drew most of the attention. During the second period, Marchment was hit by the Jets’ Mark Scheifele and fell to the ice. While skating away, he appeared visibly upset with the referee and struck official Graham Skilliter on the legs—a move that has fans calling for a suspension.
Former NHL player and current TV analyst Kevin Bieksa weighed in on the situation.
The league’s decision
“I’ve seen this before. I had a teammate who bumped a referee—one of the nicest, most gentle guys ever—and he got a ten-game suspension for that,” Bieksa said in the studio.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared the league’s stance on the incident.
“The league has discussed the incident at the end of the second period between Mason Marchment and referee Graham Skilliter. It is up to the on-ice officials to decide whether it qualifies as an Abuse of Officials violation. The answer was no… so no further action,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter.)
Game 4 will be played on Tuesday in Dallas. You can watch the incident in the clip below.
READ MORE: Kevin Bieksa weighs in on Max Domi hit on Barkov
