Chicago Blackhawks forward Brett Connolly was ejected for a first-period hit that sent Dallas Stars winger Tanner Kero to the hospital, and the Stars withstood a Hawks rally for a 4-3 overtime win Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Patrick Kane flubbed the puck a two-on-none rush in overtime and subsequently committed a hooking penalty. John Klingberg made the Hawks pay by scoring the power-play winner.
The Hawks had an ominous start.
Connolly’s interference and game misconduct penalties resulted in two power-play goals by Joe Pavelski.
Hawks coach Derek King said Connolly’s “not that type of player” to make a dirty hit.
”I just saw him,” King said after the game. “He still looks a little shaken up.
Alex DeBrincat and Jason Robertson traded goals in the second, and Dylan Strome brought the Hawks within a goal on a breakout with Brandon Hagel.
Hagel served up another scoring chance to Dominik Kubalik, who scored from the blue line with 8 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third to knot it 3-3 and force overtime.
Kevin Lankinen was under siege for most of the night but made some big stops among his 35 saves.
The Stars issued a statement saying Kero was “conscious, alert and responsive. He’ll be transported to the hospital for precautionary measures and evaluation.”
“It’s pretty scary, guys getting knocked out on the ice,” Strome said.
The collision was reminiscent of New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s big hit on Hawks forward Jujhar Khaira on Dec. 7 at the United Center, which saw Khaira taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Khaira remains in the concussion protocol.
Three minutes into the game Saturday, Connolly leveled Kero near the wall close to the blue line, almost the same spot that Khaira was hit, as Kero was attempting to leave the defensive zone. Kero didn’t appear to be looking up when Connolly checked him. In a moment similar to Khaira’s, Kero lay still on the ice before he was taken off on a stretcher.
During the intermission, Ryan Carpenter was asked about the Hawks’ reaction to the hit on Kero.
“It’s hard and it happened so early, and we’re just glad he’s OK,” he said. “We had some penalties to kill so we didn’t have too much time to think about it. We’ve got to find a way to get ourselves back in this game.”
Kero is a former Hawk who split time between Rockford and Chicago for three seasons from 2015-18.
