DALLAS — Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn sat at a podium and answered questions on Wednesday morning about the cross-check and subsequent hit to Vegas captain Mark Stone’s head that led to his ejection in Game 3.
Benn didn’t talk with reporters after the game on Tuesday, so the press conference — announced 15 minutes prior to the team’s previously schedule media availability — was Benn’s first chance to speak about the play before he met with the NHL Dept. of Player Safety regarding a potential suspension.
The wait didn’t result in much enlightenment on the penalty.
“Unfortunate play,” Benn said in his opening remarks. “I think I just need to be more responsible with my body [and] my stick. I put my team in a tough situation, so that’s pretty unfortunate.
He later said: “Obviously, I would have liked to not fall on him and, I guess, use my stick as a landing point.”
Benn wasn’t asked for an apology, but he didn’t offer it, either. He said he hadn’t communicated with Stone, though he said that’s not customary in a playoff series.
“I saw he was OK, so that’s great,” Benn said.
Stone also answered questions about the penalty on Wednesday. He said that he wasn’t going to “say it felt great,” and that he “didn’t expect to get stomped on like that,” considering the timing of the moment: less than two minutes into a pivotal Game 3 after Vegas had gone up 1-0 less than a minute before.
“My first shift of a game on home ice when you’re pretty jacked up and you’re down 1-0 and you want to try and get your team going,” Benn said. “Emotions are high, and just an unfortunate play.”
Benn said that nothing else sparked the penalty.
“Just heat of the moment,” he said. “Like I said, I need to be more responsible with my body.”
The playoffs, seemingly, have brought that out of Benn. In the regular season he had a total of 34 penalty minutes in 82 games. That was ranked the eighth-highest on the team. This postseason he’s totaled 51 penalty minutes, including 15 in Game 3, in 16 games.
For his career, Benn is averaging 1.38 penalty minutes per game in the postseason and 0.75 in the regular season.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said after the game on Tuesday that he wasn’t going to pile on Benn.
“I don’t think anyone in the building feels worse than he does about it,” DeBoer said.
DeBoer reiterated that sentiment on Wednesday.
“This guy does it right every day when he comes here from a leadership point of view, so people make mistakes,” DeBoer said. “I know you guys find that hard to believe, but they do, people make mistakes.”
DeBoer said the team met on Wednesday and that Benn spoke to his teammates at various points.
DeBoer said he also had to discuss with his coaches and general manager Jim Nill, among others, about what their options are if Benn is suspended and Evgenii Dadonov can’t play. DeBoer said Dadonov was doubtful for Game 4. He was also seen by reporters wearing a knee brace Wednesday morning.
It’s added vulnerability for a Stars team that’s already on the precipice of seeing its season end. Only four teams in NHL history have come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
“We’ve just got to get that first win and go from there,” said Max Domi, who was also fined Wednesday morning $5,000 for a slash on Stone. “There is no good in really focusing on the whole … of being down 3-0. We’re aware of that, we know that, but we just have to worry about getting our first win.
“We’re going to have a hungry group tomorrow and we’re looking forward to that.”
The Stars that have spoken since Game 3 have also collectively voiced their support for Benn. Jason Robertson said Benn “probably cares the most” about the team. The Stars also know that if they don’t win in Game 4 and potentially more, then Benn’s final showing from the 2023 season will be the penalty on Stone and the questions he answered on Wednesday.
“I think everybody wants to see Jamie Benn play again,” DeBoer said. “I think we all want to make sure his season doesn’t end on a note like that.”
