Skrastins and Niskanen To Miss Rangers Game, Petersen on IR

ESPN Dallas reports from Stars practice today that defensemen Matt Niskanen and Karlis Skrastins will both miss Friday's game against the New York Rangers and that they'll likely miss Sunday's game in Minnesota as well.

Reports after the game last night from the coach were garbled. We reported that Matt Niskanen had a broken nose but that is not the case. The laceration on his right hand is the most serious thing he suffered last night and it's bad enough that he can't play right now.

It turns out that it was Karlis Skrastins who has the broken nose and chipped tooth. They did not use the word "concussion" that I've seen today, but indications are that he was a little "out of it" last night, so we'll see where that goes. When Jamie Benn had "concussion like symptoms" earlier this season he missed three games spanning a total of 10 days. If Skrastins has a similar situation he could miss some time, but the three day break next week will help.

In the mean time it's expected that D Philip Larsen will be re-called from Cedar Park. He (or Fortunus?) would be in the lineup against the Rangers on Friday and likely in Minnesota on Sunday.

The situation is odd in that it was an entire pair that was wiped out, leaving Robidas/Grossman and Woywitka/Daley intact if Marc Crawford should wish it to be that way.

Would he play Fistric with Larsen to preserve his other pairings, or would he rather pair Larsen with a more experienced partner in Daley or Woywitka?

What would you do?

In addition they put Toby Petersen on IR as his leg bruise will require some additional time to heal.

To read quotes from Marc Crawford at Stars practice today check out ESPN Dallas.