FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson is sidelined week to week with a lower-body damage after Nashville’s Michael McCarron knocked him out of the regular-season finale Wednesday.
The Stars’ depth has been their hallmark for years, with a wealth of expertise up entrance and on the again finish. That depth might face its biggest check but in a first-round collection in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche that opens Saturday. Dallas can be with out their high left winger in Robertson and their greatest defenseman in Miro Heiskanen, who’s nonetheless recovering from the knee surgical procedure he had in late January.
At Friday’s observe, Mikael Granlund and Evgenii Dadonov skated with No. 1 heart Roope Hintz. Matt Duchene centered Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin on the second line, and Wyatt Johnston centered Jamie Benn and Mikko Rantanen on a crew that’s a 3rd line in identify solely.
With Seguin again from December hip surgical procedure and Rantanen and Granlund acquired through commerce in March, Stars coach Pete DeBoer believed his group was higher geared up to deal with Robertson’s damage than they’d have been a yr in the past. Robertson had 35 targets and 45 assists in 82 video games, second in factors solely to Duchene’s 82.
“Robo sticks the puck within the web, creates offense for us,” DeBoer stated. “We now have extra creativity in our depth than possibly final yr. Final yr, we had possibly extra heaviness, specialty, faceoffs, PK — I’m pondering of (Radek) Faksa and guys like that. This yr, I feel we now have extra scoring depth; we now have Dadonov with 20 targets on the third or fourth line. There’s no good accidents to the precise guys, however for those who’re speaking about an damage to a key, key participant, we’re most likely higher capable of soak up that in that place than most likely some others.”
DeBoer didn’t dismiss the concept that Robertson may return in the course of the upcoming collection, but it surely looks as if a protracted shot. The Stars had the fifth-best report within the league, however due to the NHL’s divisional format, they drew a fellow Stanley Cup contender within the Avalanche within the first spherical. So there’s no cakewalk to purchase Robertson’s time.
Defenseman Thomas Harley stated it’s a next-man-up mentality in Dallas.
“We’ve bought nice gamers within the lineup,” stated Harley, who has stuffed Heiskanen’s function for almost three months. “It simply means one of many guys will get to step up and play extra minutes than they’re used to, and present the world what they will do.”
Seguin, who returned for the season finale in Nashville and picked up an help, echoed that concept.
“Our group’s been good all yr, and the previous few years, with our depth,” he stated. “That’s what the playoffs is about. It’s about completely different guys stepping up at completely different instances, and whoever’s within the lineup making a distinction. You want 25-30 gamers, possibly much more, whenever you go on deep runs. It takes a pair months and everybody’s going to be prepared.”
(Picture: Robert Edwards / Imagn Photographs)
