Stars forward Matt Duchene left Dallas’ game against the Minnesota Wild early in the third period after taking a massive hit from defenseman Jacob Middleton.
With the Stars leading 3-0, Middleton knocked Duchene off his skates with a big check in neutral ice. Duchene took a moment to get back on his feet before skating to the bench and into the locker room after the hit.
Dallas defenseman Alexander Petrovic clearly took exception with the hit on his teammate, skating down the ice and dropping his gloves to square up with Middleton.
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Both players got fighting penalties for the scrap that followed and Petrovic got an additional instigator penalty that left the Stars a man down. Minnesota’s Matt Boldy scored on the ensuing power play to make it 3-1.
Duchene had scored on the power play himself earlier in the night. It was his first goal of the season.
There was pregame pomp and then goals aplenty as Dallas kept its perfect start to the season going.
Ahead of the Stars’ home opener, Oettinger revealed new details about the night that followed the benching against Edmonton.
The Stars continued their hot start to the regular season, defeating their third consecutive Central Division opponent.
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