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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Pitlick Out At Least Eight Weeks

Posted on by Tyler Mair

Yesterday the Dallas Stars announced that Tyler Pitlick had undergone surgery in his left wrist to repair some tendon damage. The forward will end up missing at least eight weeks, which would make his return the last week of the regular season at the earliest:

“It was just something over time,” Montgomery said following Tuesday’s optional practice in Frisco. “I don’t know if it was the Brown hit or something in that Kings game that turned it, but it’s a tendon, and you never know when they go from being a nuisance to being painful.”

Pitlick may not be a top six forward, but his presence in the lineup will be missed. But to look at the silver lining, his injury gives some younger players, like Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, an opportunity to step up and shine:

“This is their opportunity to seize being an everyday NHLer,” said Montgomery. “They don’t have to score to be an NHL player, but if you are not scoring you have to have an impact to help us. That’s the evolution of their game. I think we are seeing it with Roope.”

You can read more from Mark Stepneski here.

Stars Stories

The Stars are riding a five-game winning streak. Here’s hoping they can continue that success moving forward:

Brett Ritchie got a five-minute major for his hit on Alex Goligoski the other night, but he won’t receive additional punishment:

Here’s a nice inside look at the Stars’ ECHL team, the Idaho Steelheads:

Central Census

It was very busy last night in the NHL and the Central was no exception. Everyone save Stars took to the ice, earning mixed results:

  • The Minnesota Wild managed to pick up a point, but ultimately fell to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in the shootout. [Die By The Blade]
  • Elsewhere, the Winnipeg Jets also lost in overtime, with a shorthanded goal giving the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win. [Fear the Fin]
  • Hopefully the Nashville Predators got all the scoring out of their system last night, considering they beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2. [On the Forecheck]
  • The Chicago Blackhawks embarrassed the Edmonton Oilers 6-2. More on that later. [Second City Hockey]
  • Meanwhile the Colorado Avalanche continued their downward spiral as they got walloped themselves, falling 6-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. [NHL]
  • On the other side of the spectrum, St. Louis Blues continue to climb back up the standings, winning last night 3-2 against the Florida Panthers. [St. Louis Gametime]/

Once upon a time, we were all expecting a fire sale in St. Louis. But now?

It’s been a while, but at least this looks even better than the last time I shared it:

Matthews Mania

Warning: if you’re sick of reading about the Toronto Maple Leafs, just skip ahead to the final section.

Anyways, Toronto made headlines yesterday when they announced the extension of Auston Matthews to a five-year, $11.634 million deal:

The deal gives Toronto a lower cap hit than an eight-year contract might have, but it makes him a UFA in 2024. Greg Wyshynski breaks down the winners and losers of the deal: [ESPN]

Of course, the “lower cap hit” is still pretty big, but it’s probably too soon to say the Maple Leafs are “doomed”:

Friedman talks about the Matthews deal and more, including a few points about the Stars, in his latest 31 Thoughts: [Sportsnet]

Now the attention shifts to Mitch Marner, but odds are that extension might be just a liiiitle bit harder:

Finally…

Well, I didn’t expect the first of the season to be an Edmonton Oilers fan, yet I’m not surprised in the slightest:

Talking Points