Stars rally, Heiskanen concern
Dallas pulled off a comeback victory, but the win came with fresh concern over defenseman Miro Heiskanen’s health — a worry because he’s a key piece of their postseason defense. (x.com) Any extended absence would force lineup and matchup changes at a time when every game has playoff implications. (x.com)
Dallas erased a 3-1 deficit and beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night, but the bigger story by Friday was that Miro Heiskanen needed a magnetic resonance imaging scan after leaving in the first period with a lower-body injury. Jason Robertson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Dallas pushed its lead over Minnesota for second place in the Central Division to four points. (nhl.com) Heiskanen left after a collision with Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman and did not return. National Hockey League media reported Friday that Dallas scheduled the scan to learn the severity before its final home game against the New York Rangers. (nhl.com) (dallasnews.com) By Friday afternoon, Dallas was expecting Heiskanen to miss the rest of the regular season, which is only three games, while still hoping he could be ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 18, so the clock here is measured in days, not weeks. (sports.yahoo.com) (usatoday.com) That is a problem because Heiskanen is not just another defenseman on the roster. National Hockey League player records describe him as the No. 3 pick from 2017 and point back to his 26-point playoff run in 2020, when he drove Dallas all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. (nhl.com) This season, before the injury, Heiskanen had played 76 games and produced 63 points, including 54 assists, which is top-pair defenseman offense from the blue line. A defenseman with that workload is the player a coach sends out against the other team’s best line, the same way a football team shadows a star receiver with its top cornerback. (fptrack.com) (nhl.com) Dallas can still win games without him, and Thursday was the proof. Robertson scored the winner, Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists, and Wyatt Johnston added a goal and an assist in a comeback that kept Dallas at 47 wins, 20 losses, and 12 overtime losses. (nhl.com) (espn.com) But replacing Heiskanen is not one-for-one roster math. ESPN’s roster page shows Dallas has other defensemen like Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Lian Bichsel, yet losing Heiskanen means those minutes and matchups get redistributed across every pair instead of being absorbed by one player. (espn.com) The timing is rough because Dallas is not coasting into the postseason with nothing left to sort out. After the Wild win, the Stars were still fighting for Central Division position, and first-round seeding can decide whether you open against a heavyweight or get a cleaner matchup. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) So the Stars got the two points they needed on Thursday, but they may have paid for them with the health of the defenseman who organizes their back end. Over the next week, Dallas is trying to hold its place in the bracket while waiting to learn whether its most important blue-liner can be back when the games stop forgiving mistakes. (nhl.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
