Stars captain Jamie Benn rightfully tossed from Game 3 early for terribly unnecessary cross-check

This isn’t what you want to see from your captain in a must-win playoff series.

On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars were hosting the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. After losing both games on the road in Vegas, the Stars looked to get off on a better foot at home in front of a Dallas crowd. Instead, captain Jamie Benn took himself out of the game mere minutes in after an extremely unnecessary cross-check.

With less than two minutes gone by in the first period and the Stars already down 1-0, Benn laid a hit into Mark Stone. The Stars captain then gave Stone a rough cross-check to the face while the Vegas player was down on the ice, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play.

Benn very well could get another game or two on top as well given how reckless this cross-check was. And on the ensuing five-minute power play, the Golden Knights scored to double their lead. By first period’s end? The Stars were facing a 3-0 deficit and one of their leaders carelessly took themselves out of the game.

NHL fans tore into Benn for the reckless cross-check that cost the Stars one of their best players in Game 3.