Given the general state of playoff injury news, the Dallas Stars almost certainly going to be forthcoming about the status of Tyler Seguin until it’s time to turn in the official lineup for Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild.
That said, things seem to be coming along nicely for Seguin and his sliced Achilles tendon.
Lindy Ruff says Tyler Seguin’s second day on the ice was better than his first. “I thought he looked markedly better.”#WFAAStars #Stars
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 12, 2016
Seguin skated on the “fifth line” again in practice with Mattias Janmark, who also looks like he could be a distinct possibility to play when the Stars open their first round series on Thursday at the American Airlines Center.
The forward lines are still skating as though neither player is technically available, though, with Patrick Sharp up on the first line with Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves on the second unit with Valeri Nichushkin and Jason Spezza. The fourth line was Travis Moen, Vernon Fiddler and Colton Sceviour, and the odds are two of those three players would be out if Seguin and Janmark became available.
On the defensive end, Alex Goligoski missed practice with an illness. Hopefully it’s the same illness that both Spezza and Patrik Nemeth missed time with at the end of last week, as that was a 1-2 day affair (and may give players hat-trick powers upon return).
With Goligoski out, Jamie Oleksiak slid up to skate alongside John Klingberg in practice, as both the Stephen Johns-Johnny Oduya pairing and Kris Russell-Jason Demers duo got more experience working together. Jordie Benn and Nemeth skated as the presumed fourth pair.
If Goligoski’s illness isn’t too serious and if Seguin and Janmark are ready to go, it will be the first time the Stars have had a fully healthy opening-day lineup since Feb. 11, after which Travis Moen went on IR, Patrick Eaves got pneumonia (after the Feb. 20 game), and then Jordie Benn, John Klingberg, Jason Demers and Tyler Seguin went down in quick succession in early March.
Of course, none of this counts Brett Ritchie, who missed the start of the season recovering from wrist surgery and is now out with a mysterious lower-body injury. He has not yet returned to practice, but Ruff said he was skating on his own and riding the bike.
Here’s the video update from Frisco: