Dallas Stars Head Coach Peter DeBoer pulled no punches in criticizing game officials in a postgame press conference after Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. DeBoer pointed to Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse getting a minor penalty for a slash on Stars player Roope Hintz, who left the ice during the game on Friday, May 23. DeBoer questioned the league’s standards and bias while addressing reporters after the game.
Peter DeBoer’s ‘Connor McDavid’ jab Over Darnell Nurse Slashing Roope Hintz
DeBoer was left fuming after the officials’ video review led to Nurse getting only a minor penalty when it looked like he might be assessed a major penalty or game misconduct.
“Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that, that it’s not a five-minute major?” DeBoer said.
"Does anyone in this room think if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that, it's not a five-minute major?"
Peter DeBoer on Darnell Nurse receiving a minor penalty for slashing Roope Hintz. pic.twitter.com/TDwx33Zm4u
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
Hintz was injured early in the third period and did not return after being helped off the ice by his teammates. DeBoer was asked if he was confident in the Stars’ ability to respond in Game 3 if they are without Hintz, who has five goals in the postseason.
“We’ve dealt with that. We wouldn’t be sitting here if we weren’t able to deal with that or prepared to deal with that,” he said.
After the game, DeBoer praised his players for their performance despite the loss.
“I liked our game better tonight than I did Game 1 and we won Game 1…We had some looks too where [Skinner] made some saves. Sure, when you get shut out, you can do a better job in front of their goalie. But I don’t think the score was as dramatically reflective of the game as [perceived], but that’s just my opinion.”
The Oilers secured a 3-0 shutout win against the Stars in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner made 25 saves on the night.
“It’s like I said at the beginning of playoffs, it’s a roller coaster. There’s a lot of highs, lots of lows. Sometimes the score doesn’t always tell everybody exactly how the game unfolded,” Skinner said via NHL.com. “I think a few minutes where we didn’t play our best, and it looks a lot worse than what it was. So, for us just going back to tonight is really just playing the same game, doing the same thing, and just putting on our work boots and getting to work.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brett Kulak, and Connor Brown each scored a goal on the night.
“I mean, obviously, you come down to a road city like this and they’re going to make it tough and going home with a split is a good thing and we now have the home ice advantage going home here,” Nugent-Hopkins said.
Game 3 of the best-of-7 series is in Edmonton on Sunday, May 25.
