DALLAS — Wild defenseman Matt Dumba enters Game 2 of the club's opening-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars as hockey public enemy number one.
And a local sports columnist is calling for the Stars to give Dumba, as he sees it, what he deserves.
On Monday a borderline hit by Dumba knocked Stars center Joe Pavelski to the ice, and out of the game. Pavelski had just delivered the puck when the Wild defender lined him up and delivered a crushing shoulder-to-shoulder blow, causing Pavelski to fall to the ice and hit his head. He appeared dazed and unable to stand on his own while being led down the tunnel. At this point, it is uncertain if the NHL veteran will be ready to go in Wednesday's Game 2.
The officiating crew working the game at first called a 5-minute major on Dumba so they could conduct a video review of the hit. After watching it, the penalty was reduced to a 2-minute minor.
While violent and close to a major infraction, Dumba's hit on Pavelski was deemed within the framework of NHL rules and no disciplinary action was taken by the league.
That rankled veteran Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel, who on Tuesday called for the Stars to take revenge on Dumba for the hit he put on their teammate. "There is hard, playoff hockey. There is dirty, playoff hockey," Engel wrote, and framed the incident using a similar one that took place in April of 1988 involving the Stars and San Jose Sharks. In that instance the late Bryan Marchment drove Dallas forward Joe Nieuwendyk into the boards, blowing out his knee with a hit that eventually ended Nieuwendyk's career.
In his column Engel called for the modern-day Stars to target Dumba and exact retribution for the hit. "It needs to be handled. On the ice. Bryan Marchment would know what to do."
The headline of the piece read "Dallas Stars need ‘Marchment’ justice on Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba for Pavelski hit," a thinly-veiled request for a violent hit that could possibly end Dumba's playing days.
Engel's piece blew up on social media, with fans and fellow writers blasting what they saw as a call to violence. The Athletic's Michael Russo, beat writer for the Wild, called for Engel to face discipline for the words he wrote.
"A credentialed media member campaigning for this type of vengeance is disgraceful and beyond unprofessional," Russo posted on Twitter after he read Engel's column.
Russo wasn't alone in his take on Engel's column. "Mac Engel proving once again what a pile of sh** he is," Tweeted a hockey fan from Texas. "Nobody in Dallas takes Mac Engel seriously either. I forget he exists except for every decade or so he makes some hot take referencing the 90s NHL for clout."
The debate over Dumba's hit will undoubtedly raise the temperature of what was already shaping up to be a high-octane game two, following the Wild's 3-2 double overtime win over Dallas on Monday. After Pavelski was knocked out of Game 1, a sellout crowd loudly booed Dumba any time he touched the puck. That is sure to continue Wednesday night.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist: