Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment will not face punishment for making contact with referee Graham Skilliter, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman has learned.
The incident occurred during Game 3 of the Stars' second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Acting out of clear frustration, stemming from what he believed were two missed penalties against him, Marchment used his stick to tap Skilliter's shin pads.
Marchment's action immediately followed being whacked to the side by Jets forward Mark Scheifele, which received no call.
According to Friedman, the league discusses the incident, but it was the on-ice official's call whether it qualified as an abuse of officials violation. The on-ice officials said it did not, so no further action would be taken.
Marchment received no discipline in-game for the action, even though Rule 40.1 in the NHL's official rule book states: "Any player who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official, in any manner attempts to injure an official, physically demeans, or deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall receive a game misconduct penalty."
"You can't make contact with an official under any circumstances," Sportsnet's Kelly Hrudey said on the Hockey Central panel during the second intermission.
"You can be as frustrated as humanly possible, but you can't contact them."
At the start of the third period, it appeared that Marchment apologized to Skilliter.
Dallas won the game 5-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Watch Game 4 live Tuesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT.
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