Stars’ Hintz leaves Game 2 of West final after Nurse’s slash to top of left skate

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz left the ice without putting any weight on his left leg after Edmonton defender Darnell Nurse slashed him on top of his skate in the third period of the Oilers’ 3-0 victory in Game 2 of the Western Conference final Friday night.

Hintz went down to the ice in front of the Edmonton net, and immediately reached toward his foot. Nurse was given a minor penalty for slashing after officials reviewed for a potential major penalty.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer said afterward that he didn’t have an update on the injury to Hintz, but responded with a pointed question when asked what he thought about the play and the decision by officials.

“Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that it’s not a five-minute major?,” DeBoer said.

Stars forward Mason Marchment said he felt there “was some intent, obviously” in Nurse’s actions.

“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.”

When asked about Marchment’s contention, DeBeor repeated a similar response to his first one.

“Again, you know, if that’s 97 (McDavid) carried off the ice in the same situation, I think we all know the answer to what that looks like for us,” the coach said.

An athletic trainer came out to check on Hintz, who stayed down for a couple of minutes before being helped off the ice. He didn’t put his left foot down while teammates Mikael Granlund and Lian Bicshel guided him to the bench. Hintz then went down the tunnel toward the locker room.

Edmonton, which evened the series, hosts Game 3 on Sunday.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl