LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Dallas Stars issued an apology to the Golden Knights and the National Hockey League on Wednesday morning in response to "unacceptable" behavior from spectators during Game 3.
During the second period of Tuesday night’s game, some spectators at the American Airlines Center began throwing items down onto the ice.
Stars president and CEO Brad Alberts called the actions “unacceptable” and said they “put the safety of players and fans at risk" in a statement that was posted on social media.
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) May 24, 2023
"The actions of these individuals certainly do not reflect our great city, organization, and loyal fan base," the statement read.
VGK goaltender Adin Hill was hit in the head by a bucket of popcorn thrown from the stands as the Golden Knights re-entered the ice ahead of the third period.
"I guess everything was hitting me tonight," Hill said after the game.
While the Stars organization apologized for fans' off-ice behavior, two Dallas players face NHL discipline for their actions on the ice.
Dallas Stars captain, Jamie Benn, appeared before the NHL Player Safety board who has suspended Benn for two playoff or regular season games for cross-checking VGK right-wing Mark Stone less than two minutes into the game.
"It is important to note that Benn is in control of this play at all times and makes the decision to deliver a forceful crosscheck to a prone player," league officials said. "This is simply an unnecessarily dangerous decision by Benn and it is delivered with sufficient intent and force to merit supplemental discipline."
Benn was ejected from the game for the hit shortly after. He said, "emotions are high and it's just an unfortunate play."
"That was my first shift of a game on home ice. When you're pretty jacked up and you're down 1-0, you want to try and get your game going. I think I just need to be more responsible with my body and my stick," Benn said during a press conference on Wednesday. "I put my team in a tough situation so it was unfortunate. Obviously, didn't want to take a five-minute penalty but the game happens fast. Emotions are high. Obviously, I would have liked to have not fallen on him and I guess use my stick as a landing point."
On Wednesday morning, Stone said the situation was handled the way it should have been handled.
"We got the five-minute power play. We got a big goal from it, got a ton of momentum for our team," Stone said. "I didn't love what transpired but it got handled the right way, we stuck together as a team, and now we're getting ready for Game 4."
Dallas center Max Domi was fined $5,000, "the maximum allowable," for slashing Stone in the third period, NHL Player Safety announced later Wednesday morning.
Dallas’ Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Slashing against Vegas’ Mark Stone.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 24, 2023
Domi was also called for game misconduct with 21 seconds left in the second period when he started throwing punches after cross-checking Vegas' Nicolas Hague.
Following Game 3, the Vegas Golden Knights have taken a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final following Tuesday night's 4-0 shutout. The team is now just one win away from making it to the Stanley Cup Final. VGK head coach Bruce Cassidy said the team is ready for the next game.
"You learn now about your players a lot more in these kind of moments and experience is coming through for us," Cassidy said. "Here we are. We've got another challenge in front of us and I think our guys will be up to it. We'll find out tomorrow."
The two teams will face off in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday and the puck drops at 5 p.m.
