Islanders' concern for injured Romanov after scary boards collision overshadows tense win vs. Stars

The third period of this 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday was about as action-packed as a regular season game could be, all the way down to the final tenth of a second when the Stars were awarded the tying goal on the ice only to have it taken away after the video review at league headquarters.

Just before that, Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov had to be helped off the ice after ramming face-first into the boards. He'd been hit by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who was ejected for boarding with 28 seconds left, and the Islanders were fuming about it. Coach Patrick Roy screamed toward Rantanen as he walked down the tunnel toward the locker room.

“Whenever your friend gets hurt, it’s way more important than hockey,” teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau said.

Roy had no details on Romanov's injury afterward but said he didn't need a hospital visit.

“You see the numbers, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. I mean, you don’t go through the guy,” said Roy, whose team is 5-1 on a seven-game road swing. “I’m proud of the way that our guys handled it afterwards. No one was happy to see someone get hurt like this. It’s disrespectful for our guy.”

Roy noted that he briefly coached Rantanen as a rookie in 2015-16, his final season with Colorado, and said playing dirty was not his style.

“But at the same time, that should not be part of our game,” Roy said.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan defended Rantanen because he believed his skate was clipped by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield's to cause him to raise his arms for balance right before contact with Romanov that in turn increased the intensity of the hit.

“It's just one of those hockey plays that happened. I hope Romanov is OK,” Gulutzan said. “It's a dangerous play for everybody.”

The Stars clearly understood why the Islanders were so upset.

“They’re sticking up for their guy. We have to respect that,” said star Jason Robertson, who had two goals. “It’s just unfortunate it happened.”

Then for good measure, another collision wound up determining the final outcome.

As Robertson darted toward the net with the final seconds ticking away, Wyatt Johnson put a shot on the net as Robertson ran into goalie David Rittich, who fell on his back as the puck went in and the arena erupted. But the NHL's Situation Room initiated a review and ruled that Robertson impaired Rittich's ability to play the puck. The Stars contended that Robertson was pushed by an Islanders player into the crease.

“Our side's going to say Robo got pushed. Their side's going to say Robo ran into the goalie," Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. "It kind of is what it is in an 82-game season.”

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