The Dallas Stars have had relative luck when it comes to injuries this season, with most of their games played lost to injury restricted to Martin Hanzal (various things all season long) and Marc Methot’s knee issue. But that luck has run out a bit today.
Radek Faksa has been ruled out and listed as “day-to-day” with a foot injury. Esa Lindell is sick, and may still play tonight if he’s feeling up to it. Faksa has played in 64 of Dallas’ 65 games this season, while Lindell has played big minutes in all of them this year. Both are key cogs to Dallas’ defensive efforts, so them being out of the lineup will be a challenge for the Stars game planning.
Because of those two news items, the Stars mixed their lines up a bit, with Jason Spezza moving back to center and Gemel Smith drawing into the lineup. Roope Hintz, who was called-up from the AHL this morning on an emergency basis (confirmed by Mark Stepenski this morning) may still yet draw into the lineup, as one other undisclosed forward may not be able to go tonight.
Here were the forward lines at morning skate this morning:
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Brett Ritchie
Devin Shore – Mattias Janmark – Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Tyler Pitlick
Gemel Smith – Jason Dickinson – Remi Elie
With Lindell possibly unable to play, Julius Honka could see a return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past eight games. With Lindell potentially out, Marc Methot could move to the top pairing and the rest of the defense should look familiar:
Marc Methot – John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis – Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns – Julius Honka
We’ll have to see during tonight’s warmups if there are any further tinkering with the forward lines and whether Lindell can go tonight. With the team playing tomorrow in Nashville, these could be an approximation of the lines and pairings we see the next two games.