Transferred to Dallas from the Hurricanes in March, Mikko Rantanen is proving to be a boon for the Stars. The Finn has been a blessing for coach Pete DeBoer with 17 points in the last 6 games. And yet, ahead of Game 3 against the Jets tonight, the coach was eager to see Rantanen’s colleagues stepping up. “Some other guys have to find a way to take a little bit of that load off of him,” DeBoer said. And that’s exactly what Mason Marchment tried to do. But at what cost?

In Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center tonight, the Dallas Stars ran away with a massive 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. While that is indeed a hefty margin, some would argue that DeBoer’s boys had it in them to score even more goals. But they were denied the chance, and Mason Marchment wasn’t on board with the Jets’ tactics on several occasions. But his way of expressing his frustration almost got the 29-year-old Canadian into soup.

During the second period of the Stars vs. Jets game today, Mason took a blow from the visitors’ Mark Scheifele. However, the match officials did not call a penalty on the hit, and Marchment was evidently livid about that. The forward’s emotions got the best of him, and as he got back to his feet, Marchment could be seen using his stick to tap the shin pad of referee Graham Skilliter. That’s certainly something that would have invited stern action from the NHL. Thankfully, though, as Elliott Friedman noted on X, the Stars’ star came out of the woods unscathed.

In an X post from May 11, Friedman noted that the match officials didn’t consider Mason Marchment’s action as a violation of the NHL rules. “It is on-ice officials’ call to decide if that qualifies as an Abuse of Officials violation. The answer was no…so no further action,” the social media update states. Maybe what got the Dallas forward relief was the fact that he went to the refs to apologize for lashing out before the start of the third period.

While Marchment’s tap wasn’t exactly overly violent in nature, it was still against the NHL’s rules, which clearly state that making contact with match officials is strictly discouraged. “Any player who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official, in any manner attempts to injure an official, physically demeans, or deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall receive a game misconduct penalty,” notes Rule 40.1 of the NHL, and many would argue that Mason was lucky not to receive immediate ejection right after his stick caught the ref.

However, this wouldn’t be the first time that a match official was involved in a controversy at the American Airlines Center. Back in February, during a match between the Stars and the Blue Jackets, Thomas Harley’s shot took a deflection off Columbus’ Evgenii Dadonov’s high stick and was still allowed as a goal. The decision caught a lot of flak from the community, and an eye surgery company even took a subtle jibe at the ref for letting the rule violation stand without any repercussion.

However, troublesome calls by the refs are only part of the problem for the Stars’ foes.

Mason Marchment and the squad have favorable conditions to work on

It has been quite the year for the Winnipeg Jets. The Central Division heavyweights finished the regular season with 116 points and the top seed in the Conference. A feat that brought the Jets their first NHL trophy. And with that, the notorious curse of the President’s Trophy. Maybe that’s something that could be capitalized on by Mason Marchment & Co.?

If that wasn’t all, Jason Robertson also returned for the Stars after sitting out seven games against the Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 of the playoffs. With 35 goals and 45 assists to his name before a knee injury got him sidelined, Robertson was a force to be reckoned with throughout the regular season. For obvious reasons, Coach DeBoer couldn’t be happier to have his offensive powerhouse back for the second round of the postseason.

But could these be omens that the Stars are en route to winning their second Stanley Cup this time? Can Mason Marchment finally end the drought? Dallas would face either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Edmonton Oilers in the next round should DeBoer’s squad manage to subdue the Jets in the best-of-seven-game series. What do you think will happen? Tell us!