Dumba kneels, NHL puts focus on Black Lives Matter movement
Minnesota’s Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to kneel during the U.S. national anthem when he did so before the opening playoff game between Edmonton and Chicago in Edmonton, Alberta.
Dumba knelt at center ice Saturday while fellow Black players Malcolm Subban of Chicago and Darnell Nurse of Edmonton each stood with a hand on one of his shoulders. Several teams this week stood together during the U.S. and Canadian anthems, with some players locking arms to show solidarity.
With the message “END RACISM” on the video screens around him, the Wild defenseman made a passionate speech about racial injustice on behalf of the league and the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
“Racism is everywhere, and we need to fight against it,” Dumba said. “We will fight against injustice and fight for what is right. I hope this inspires a new generation of hockey players and hockey fans because Black lives matter, Breonna Taylor’s life matters. Hockey is a great game, but it could be a whole lot greater, and it starts with all of us.”
Dumba and a handful of other Black hockey players formed the Hockey Diversity Alliance in June in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in policy custody in Minnesota. Dumba, who is Filipino-Canadian, wore a Hockey Diversity Alliance sweatshirt while making the speech and kneeling.
“I just wanted to kind of show support,” Nurse said. “We’re all in this, fighting this same fight. It was good that the message was heard and needs to continue to be spread and actions need to speak louder than words.”
BLACKHAWKS 6, OILERS 4 » Rookie winger Dominik Kubalik had two goals and three assists to help Chicago beat host Edmonton.
ISLANDERS 2, PANTHERS 1 » Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots and New York opened the series with a victory over Florida. Anthony Beauvillier scored on a power play at 3:39 of the second period. The goal came a little over a minute after Florida’s Mike Matheson was penalized for a hit to the head on defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who did not return. HURRICANES 3, RANGERS 2 » Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist in Carolina’s opening victory over New York. Jaccob Slavin scored 1:01 seconds in on Carolina’s first shot on goal. Martin Necas also scored and Petr Mrazek stopped 24 shots.