As facial injuries continue to plague the Stars’ roster this season, top-line center Roope Hintz is the latest victim.
After taking a puck to the face at the 10:45 mark of the second period of Saturday night’s game against Edmonton, Hintz left the game and did not return. He was taken to the hospital and ruled out for Sunday’s game in Vancouver.
“Flew home today, so we’ll see,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Sunday. “Initial thought was it’s nothing long, long term. But obviously, not available day-to-day here.”
DeBoer said it looked like a fracture has most likely been ruled out, but that the team won’t be certain until all of the imaging is complete. He didn’t provide a concrete timeline for Hintz’s return but will likely have an update when the team returns to Dallas for practice Tuesday.
Hintz is the fifth Stars player to suffer a facial injury this season, joining Matt Dumba, Matt Duchene, Mavrik Bourque and Mason Marchment. Some recoveries have lasted a few games. Others like Marchment’s, which required surgery, took over a month.
“We’ve dealt with that injury adversity all year, and it hasn’t affected us for the most part,” DeBoer said. “That’s big shoes to fill when you take him and [Miro] Heiskanen and [Tyler] Seguin out of the lineup, but our guys haven’t used that as an excuse.”
Dallas’ top line had a new look Saturday with Hintz centering Jason Robertson and trade-deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen. Wyatt Johnston will replace Hintz on the top line.
Hintz has recorded 25 goals and 27 assists in 59 games for Dallas this year.
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