Stars’ Benn fined for cross-checking Wild’s Hartman

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Dallas Stars winger Jamie Benn has been fined $2,604.17 for cross-checking Minnesota Wild center Ryan Hartman.

Benn’s fine was the maximum allowable under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.

The infraction occurred with five minute to go in the third period of Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Wild. Benn began the shenanigans between the two players, as he cross-checked Hartman in between the two faceoff hashmarks. Hartman returned the favour behind the net, and as Benn got up in a bit of a daze, he skated up to Hartman, the Stars’ captain gave two heavy cross-checks, one to Hartman’s lower back and one to the back of his helmet, before jumping on top of him.

Both players received two-minute minor penalties from the exchange, Benn for cross-checking while Hartman got two for unsportsmanlike conduct. The stretch of four-on-four play proved to benefit the Stars, as with the goalie pulled, Jason Robertson scored nine seconds before the penalties expired to pull within one goal. However, the Wild had the last laugh in the game, as they went on to win the game by a score of 4-2 and take a 3-2 lead in their first round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This isn’t Benn’s first instance of dangerous cross-checking, even in the postseason. He received a two-game suspension for cross-checking Mark Stone in the 2023 Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Considering Benn’s reputation, it appears he was lucky to get off with just a fine.

The Stars will need a bit more out of Benn in this series if they want to avoid elimination, as he’s struggled thus far in the series, going pointless in the first five games. This comes after a regular season which saw him take a step back production-wise, as his 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points in 60 games was the lowest point total in his career in a season with at least 60 games played.

The Stars will look to keep their season alive when they return to Minnesota for Game 6 of their first round series on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT.