The emotions are running high in the NHL Playoffs.
The Vegas Golden Knights are on the verge of making it to their second Stanley Cup Finals in just their fifth season in the NHL.
Vegas is looking to complete the sweep of the Dallas Stars tomorrow to clinch the Western Conference championship. But during Game 3 last night, apparently things got a little out of control and left Dallas issuing an apology.
Towards the end of the second period, Stars forward Max Domi and Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague got tangled up when Hague was leaning hard on the Dallas forward, sending both to the ice. After they got separated and skated back to the other end of the ice, Domi then came up on the back of Hague and knocked him down from behind.
Hague was able to get up, but once he did Domi skated back over and began to throw punches before the two were separated.
Domi was given minor penalties for roughing and cross-checking, as well as a 10 minute major for misconduct.
But Stars fans weren’t happy, and began littering the ice with debris with 21.6 seconds still remaining in the period.
Officials ended up sending teams to the locker rooms early to try to regain control of the situation, but even as the teams returned to the ice, fans were still fired up and hit Vegas goalie Adin Hill with a bag of popcorn as he returned for the final period.
Not a great look…
The Vegas Golden Knights would go on to win the game 4-0, sending the Stars to 0-3 in the series and one game away from being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.
After the game, players discussed the wild scene and took the blame for their fans’ frustrations. Said Stars forward Tyler Seguin:
“Yeah, we don’t love it. We have amazing fans here. That’s out of character for them. But we put them in that position. They’re emotional, just like us. So we’ve got to do better.”
And today, the Dallas Stars issued an apology for their fans’ behavior during the home loss.
In a statement from Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts, the organization said:
“On behalf of the Dallas Stars organization, I would like to apologize to the Vegas Golden Knights and the National Hockey League for the actions of a few of our spectators at last night’s game. Their actions were unacceptable and put the safety of the players and fans at risk.
We take pride in providing the best experience for everyone who enters our arena. The actions of these individuals certainly do not reflect our great city, organization and loyal fan base.”
I guess it’s probably a good thing the series moves to Vegas for game 5. But if the Stars manage to force a game 6, might wanna put those nets around the ice a little higher.