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Matt Martin to have DoPS hearing after kneeing Trevor Daley

Matt Martin to have DoPS hearing after kneeing Trevor Daley

The Dallas Stars’ playoff hopes are already slim — nine points out of a wild card spot — and losing one of their top defensemen Tuesday night won’t help matters.

Early in the first period of their 2-1 3-2 overtime win over the New York Islanders Tuesday, Matt Martin collided knee-on-knee with Trevor Daley, sending the Stars blueliner to the ice in pain.

It was nothing malicious from Martin, as you can see from his immediate response, just clumsy, and unfortunately Daley was on the receiving end. Still, just like players have to be in control of their sticks, Martin needs to be in control of his body if he's going to lay a lick on an opponent.

Daley was done for the game and Martin was given a five-minute major for kneeing and an automatic game misconduct. The NHL announced Wednesday morning that the Islanders forward will have a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety.

"From my view he was planted, there wasn't intent," Islanders head coach Jack Capuano told Arthur Staple of Newsday afterward. "[Martin's] an honest guy, I think people know that."

Stars coach Lindy Ruff, however, had a different opinion.

From Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News:

“That’s a suspension. It’s another stupid hit that makes you just shake your head. We’ve already lost our best forward [Tyler Seguin] and now we’ve lost probably our best defenseman for a period of time on a play that just wasn’t necessary.”

Ruff added that Daley, who is having a career season with 16 goals and 33 points, could be out “weeks,” joining the already-injured Tyler Seguin on IR.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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