Hintz bloodied MacKinnon in his first NHL fight. Tonight they meet again in Denver

By the Data Desk · Published 14 OCT 06:00 · Updated 15 OCT 07:00

Roope Hintz had never dropped the gloves in the NHL until Tuesday night, and when he did, Nathan MacKinnon went to the Colorado locker room for facial repairs. Colorado won 3-2 in Dallas, Hintz is being evaluated after the game, and the two teams play again tonight in Denver.

• Hintz and MacKinnon each took a five-minute fighting major at 6:46 of the second period; it was Hintz's first NHL fight, AP reports.
• Martin Necas scored twice, the second on a five-on-three, and Colorado held on after Hintz pulled Dallas within a goal early in the third (NHL game centre).
• Hintz was not made available to reporters after the game and is undergoing evaluation, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News reports; no team update yet.

The fight came at 6:46 of the second period with Colorado already in front. Both went off for five minutes, and MacKinnon spent more than seven minutes away from the bench while his face was treated, AP writes. He came back and finished with two assists, which gives him 12 points this season. It was not the only fight: Fedor Svechkov and Radek Faksa had gone at it late in the first period, and Svechkov took an instigator penalty and a ten-minute misconduct.

On the scoresheet Colorado were the better team. Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring, Tyler Seguin equalised on the power play, Dallas' first home power-play goal in eight tries, and Necas scored twice in the second, the second at five-on-three. Hintz made it 3-2 at 3:17 of the third, but Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves and Jake Oettinger 22 at the other end (AP, NHL game centre).

Behind the scenes, nobody in Dallas has said what Hintz is dealing with. He played 16:30 and scored, but he was not available to the media afterwards, and RotoWire, citing the Dallas Morning News, lists him as undergoing evaluation with an undisclosed issue. The Stars are 2-3-1 with five points from six games; Colorado are 4-2-0 and came into Tuesday leading the league with 5.2 goals per game, while Dallas had the best goals-against average at 1.38 (AP).

There is some history to settle as well. Dallas swept both meetings last season, each in a shootout, AP notes. What happens next: the Stars' morning skate in Denver on Wednesday should tell us whether Hintz plays, and the puck drops at Ball Arena at 6:30 pm Mountain time.