Watch: Errant punch from Minnesota Wild's Brandon Baddock catches linesman in the face
NHL on-ice officials have a tough, thankless job.
During Thursday's preseason tilt between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, linesman C.J. Murray caught an errant punch to the face while breaking up a fight.
Roughly eight minutes into the opening period, Wild forward Brandon Baddock decked Dallas' Roope Hintz with a stiff body check, knocking him down to the ice. The hit drew the ire of Hintz's teammate Jerad Rosburg, who immediately challenged Baddock to a fight.
When it appeared that Baddock was beginning to get the best of Rosburg, officials moved in to break things up. However, Baddock wasn't finished and continued to throw haymakers, with one catching the linesman squarely in the jaw.
Baddock received a game misconduct for the hit on Hintz.
After the game, Stars' head coach Pete DeBoer chastised Baddock for the dangerous hit, which forced Hintz to leave the game briefly.
"It's a dirty play," DeBoer said. "Liberties taken with a really good player, that's unnecessary ... that's the kind of stuff we're trying to get out of the game."
According to DeBoer, Hintz was cleared after going through concussion protocols.
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