- Brandon Carlo was tossed from his Blues debut for a knee-on-knee hit on Roope Hintz
- Hintz came back for one shift, then sat out the rest of the third period
- Read below for the video of the hit and how St. Louis rolled to a 4-0 win in Dallas
The Stars’ season opener came with a scary moment for Roope Hintz.
Blues defenseman Brandon Carlo caught Hintz knee-on-knee along the boards 2:49 into the third period Friday night in Dallas. Hintz went down hard and needed help getting off the ice.
Carlo was handed a five-minute major for kneeing. Officials reviewed the play and added a game misconduct, which ended his first game in a Blues sweater early.
Watch the hit:
Stars defenseman Thomas Harley also went to the box on the play, picking up a cross-checking minor on Carlo.
Robert Tiffin pointed out that Hintz took the hit to his left knee, with the major still under review at the time:
There’s a bit of good news. Hintz returned at 5:21 of the third and took a 50-second shift. That turned out to be his last one, as he didn’t come back out for the final 13:49. He finished with 16:57 of ice time.
No update on his status had come out as of late Friday night.
Dallas can’t afford to lose him again. Hintz was limited to 53 games last season, putting up 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists), and he didn’t play a single playoff game in the spring.
Even with the five-minute power play, Dallas couldn’t solve Joel Hofer. The Blues goalie stopped all 25 shots he faced for the shutout. Mason McTavish scored 1:34 into the game, Dalibor Dvorsky added one in the second, and Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter scored 15 seconds apart late in the third.
St. Louis picked up Carlo from the Maple Leafs for a pair of third-round picks at the draft in June, one of several moves for a Blues team under new GM Alexander Steen. He logged 15:27 before the ejection.
Next up for the Stars is Saturday in Nashville, so we should know more about Hintz before puck drop.
