Stars' John Klingberg shoots puck at linesman out of frustration
Oftentimes in the NHL, particularly late in the season when teams are fighting for playoff positioning, we see players lash out in frustration when things aren’t going their way. That was exactly the case for Dallas Stars defenceman John Klingberg on Thursday night, though his lapse in judgment resulted in a somewhat ugly situation.
With a delayed penalty coming to the Stars, Klingberg went to touch the puck and chose to fire it along the boards. Normally, this wouldn’t have received any type of attention as it was a pretty standard reaction. However, in this particular case, the puck happened to strike veteran linesman Vaughan Rody in the knee, sending him tumbling to the ice.
John Klingberg fired the puck down the ice after a Stars penalty and accidentally hit the linesman in the knee!
Glad to see everyone's alright 🙏 pic.twitter.com/H0FQ8h6Oq2— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 1, 2022
Despite staying down for a brief period of time, Rody was able to shake it off and remain in the game. Klingberg immediately approached him and appeared to apologize, while the official seemed to realize it was unintentional and responded by giving the Stars defender a pat on the head. There was no additional penalty given on the play.
While Klingberg was visibly frustrated at the time, he and his Stars teammates had something to smile about by the end of the night, as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime. With the win, the Stars were able to jump ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild-card position in the Western Conference. The Stars currently have three games in hand on the Golden Knights, putting them in a great position for a postseason berth with 16 games remaining.
Rody is nearing the end of his 22nd and final year in the NHL, as he announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. Come summertime, he won't have to worry about rogue pucks striking him anymore.
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