The Dallas Stars announced the recall of left winger Joel Kiviranta this afternoon.
It’s a move that likely signals the team anticipates Corey Perry to be suspended more than one game after his phone hearing tomorrow morning. Perry is expected to be suspended as a result of his questionable elbow to the head of Ryan Ellis in yesterday’s 2020 Bridgestone Winter Classic between the Stars and the Nashville Predators at the Cotton Bowl here in Dallas.
After a broken foot kept Perry out of the lineup to start the season, he missed the opportunity to play his 1,000th career game against the Anaheim Ducks. A suspension that is longer than two games will see Perry miss his first chance to play in Anaheim since he was bought out by the franchise. Dallas plays the Ducks next Thursday, three games from today, when the team hits California for a Pacific Division swing next week before stopping in Denver on the end of the road trip.
Kiviranta, who was signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Europe this past summer, is a speedy forward that is 5th on the Texas Stars (AHL) in scoring currently. With the team about to hit the road, Kiviranta could serve as health insurance if another forward, such as Blake Comeau (who missed five minutes of game time yesterday after hitting his head on the ice after a hard clean hit) or Mattias Janmark (who was banged up a little bit before the Christmas break hit), have some nagging injuries that might keep them out of the lineup.
Justin Dowling, who has been a healthy scratch for Dallas in eight of the last 10 games, should be available to draw into the lineup too. Since Jim Montgomery was fired on December 10th, Dowling has seen his ice time drop dramatically under interim head coach Rick Bowness.
Morning skate tomorrow will provide more insights into the expected lineup for the Stars when they take on the Detroit Red Wings at the American Airlines Center.