Dallas Stars Lose Demers, Still In Good Standing On Defense

The Dallas Stars picked up their sixth win against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-1 victory Thursday night. But this victory ultimately came with a price.

On Friday morning, news spread that Jason Demers was scheduled to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety. This meeting was in reference to a potentially dangerous play Demers had committed the night before in Pittsburgh. Here is a video of Demers’ altercation with Penguins F Nick Bonino.

As you can see, Demers corrals the puck in the Penguins corner. Pittsburgh had pulled their goaltender and was trying to make a push with the two man advantage, though they were down by three goals with less than four minutes to go in the game.

Once Demers pulled the puck in and turned around to try and get it to the net, he saw Bonino coming in to defend and threw his elbow out in retaliation. His elbow and forearm met up with Bonino’s face and sent the Penguins forward crumbling to the ground.

Demers received a game misconduct penalty for the check and was thrown for the rest of the game. This hit was violent enough to schedule him an over-the-phone hearing with the NHL player safety officials. Over the phone meetings typically mean the case will not be receiving a severe punishment.

The final verdict was that Jason Demers will be receiving a two-game suspension. That means he will miss Saturday night’s game at home against the Florida Panthers as well as Tuesday night’s home game versus the Anaheim Ducks.

This may seem like a terrible thing to happen with the Dallas Stars currently on a hot streak. They have won their last five and sit at a record of 6-1-0. Their last loss came two weeks ago versus Colorado. They sit atop of the Western Conference with 12 points and sit second overall in the NHL behind undefeated Montreal.

But the fact of the matter is that Dallas has planned for this. Maybe not this exact scenario, but they are covered and will survive and potentially even thrive.

The reason for this is their extras. Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak have been warming the defensive scratches since the season began and have been itching to get their first starts. Stars head coach Lindy Ruff has wanted to give them playing time, but with the hot streak that Dallas has been on, he has yet to mess with the starters.

Demers was playing a high-octane level of hockey and was one of the Stars best defenders. He registered one goal and three assists in his first seven games of the season and was playing shut-down defense with Johnny Oduya.

Now that he is out, it opens the door for Nemeth and Oleksiak to have a chance to play. The Stars play the Panthers and Ducks this week, and both teams are struggling. Florida is 3-3-1 and the Stars have already beat them once this just a week ago, while the Ducks are stumbling through their “dream” season with a starting record of 1-4-1.

Nemeth and Oleksiak both have NHL playing experience, but Nemeth is much further advanced in that regard. Expect Nemeth to get the start and more than likely play on a pair with Johnny Oduya.

It looked as though the Dallas Stars were going to be in trouble for a second. But GM Jim Nill knows what he is doing, and the backups will finally have a chance to shine. Another win-win. It seems that is all the Stars know how to do anymore. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Next: Dallas Stars Leave Penguins Dazed and Confused

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