Rantanen, Stars’ Star, Suspended for Dirty Play in the NHL

Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen has been automatically suspended for one game after being ejected for the second time in three games. Rantanen received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of the second period in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Flames, after hitting forward Matt Coronato from behind. Coronato was able to finish the game, but Calgary coach Ryan Huska called it “a terrible hit”. The NHL’s Player Safety Department did not want to hold a hearing for Rantanen following his latest infraction and instead relied on rule 23.6 of the NHL rulebook, which requires an automatic one-game suspension for any player who receives a total of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the “Physical Infractions Category” in 41 consecutive regular season games. The suspension will keep Rantanen out of Tuesday night’s game in Edmonton against the Oilers, a rematch of last year’s Western Conference final, which the Oilers won in five games. Rantanen, 29, is tied with Jason Robertson for the team lead with 28 points in 22 games (10 goals, 18 assists). With his two ejections, he now leads the team with an astounding 57 penalty minutes. The hit on Saturday was the last of a difficult week for Rantanen. In last Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Islanders, the Stars winger was also ejected at the end of the game after hitting defenseman Alexander Romanov. That play provoked the anger of the Islanders’ coach, Patrick Roy, who launched a profane diatribe when Rantanen left the ice, and then called the hit “disrespectful”.

I’m going to say that when you see the number, you have to leave it. Everyone knows that. You don’t go over the guy,” Roy said after the game. “I was in Colorado when Rantanen was drafted there. It’s not his style. But at the same time, that shouldn’t be part of our game.

Patrick Roy

Romanov will undergo shoulder surgery and is expected to be out for five to six months, the Islanders announced on Sunday. Rantanen has no history of supplemental discipline in his 11-year career, which has spanned Colorado, Carolina, and now Dallas. Rantanen’s only notable history with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety before this suspension was a fine for embellishment.