Good news and a major doubt ahead of Game 1 for the Stars
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Miro Heiskanen will dress for the Dallas Stars in Game 1 tonight against the Minnesota Wild, confirmed Saturday afternoon, but the Hintz situation is a different story entirely.
Head coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters he does not know if Roope Hintz will be available for this series.
Still hopeful, he said. But not sounding optimistic.
That's a significant problem. Hintz, listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury, has been one of the most reliable two-way forwards in the Central Division all season.
He appeared in only 53 games this year, posting 44 points with a plus-16 rating, and his absence stretches Dallas's lineup dangerously thin at center.
Heiskanen's return is the better news, and it matters enormously on the blue line. The Finnish defenseman carried 26 power play assists this season while logging heavy minutes as the backbone of Dallas's back end.
He was also day-to-day heading into today's puck drop. Getting him back is like plugging a hole before the ship leaves the dock.
Stars carry a five-game win streak into their first playoff test
Dallas finished the regular season at 50-20-12, good for 112 points and a five-game win streak. The Stars went 7-2-1 in their last 10.
Minnesota is no pushover. The Wild finished 46-24-12 with 104 points, and Kirill Kaprizov went 45-44-89 on the season with 10 goals in his last 10 games.
But the Stars have dominated this regular-season matchup. Dallas beat Minnesota 5-2 at home in October, won 5-4 in early April, and the Wild's only wins were a 5-2 road win in December and a shootout loss in Dallas's column in March.
The Stars own this head-to-head this season, and American Airlines Center will be loud tonight.
Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson each hit 45 goals this year. Dallas is deep, dangerous, and at home.
Still, losing Hintz for a full playoff series would be the kind of storyline that lingers. He's the center who holds the defensive structure together when the games slow down and get ugly.
Mavrik Bourque has been quietly excellent with 6 goals in his last 10, and Matt Duchene had 6 assists in his last 5. The depth is real.
But Bourque replacing Hintz in a playoff series is like asking a backup guitar player to headline the arena tour. He can hold the gig. It's not the same show.
Jake Oettinger posted a .899 save percentage in 54 regular-season games. He'll need to be sharper than that if Minnesota gets its forecheck rolling without Heiskanen playing his best minutes.
Gulutzan has real decisions to make on line combinations and matchup deployment, and the Hintz situation could force his hand earlier than he'd like.
Game 1 goes tonight at 8:00 PM ET. The Stars are the favorites. But that injury room is going to follow this series wherever it goes.
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