Lineup shuffling is the theme again tonight, and the Dallas Stars took the biggest hit with Wyatt Johnston scratched just before puck drop against Colorado because of illness.
That’s a rare sight. The 23-year-old center had not missed a game since making his NHL debut against the Predators on October 13, 2022, when he scored a goal and never really looked back.
Johnston has played all 82 games in each of the last four seasons, and last year he put together a monster breakout with 45 goals and 86 points. For Dallas, that kind of reliability has become part of his identity.
Without Johnston, the Stars bumped Sam Steel up to second-line center behind Roope Hintz. There was a brief moment when it looked like Dallas might dress seven defensemen, with Kyle Capobianco filling out the group, but Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas News later noted that the 29-year-old is actually lining up as a forward tonight.
The setup points to some shifts on the fourth line next to Radek Faksa, giving the stay-at-home lefty an unusual season debut. Capobianco has a career high of nine points, and at 6-foot-3 he can still help by getting to the net when he gets his chances.
Johnston’s Ironman run - the ninth-longest in the league - comes to an end for now, though he could be back against Colorado again in 24 hours when the teams head to Denver for the rematch.
There were other injury notes around the division, too. Mavrik Bourque was a game-time decision for Nashville because of an upper-body injury, but Beat Reporter Brooks Bratten reported he would not play tonight against Vegas.
Bourque is still searching for his first goal as a Predator, though he did collect an assist on a Nils Höglander goal last week. He left the Montreal game five days ago after just 8:15 of ice time.
With Bourque out, Vitali Pinchuk moves into the third-line center spot alongside Jonathan Marchessault after working with him in camp.
Colorado is dealing with its own absences. Zachary L’Heureux remains out against Dallas as he continues to work through the upper-body issue that kept him out of the first two games of the season.
The former first-round pick, acquired from the Predators over the offseason, finally made his Avalanche debut against Winnipeg and followed that up with an assist in Calgary one night later. He took warm-ups before being ruled a late scratch, and the expectation is that he should be back by the end of the week.
The Avalanche are also missing Cale Makar for family reasons, leaving them to play with 17 skaters.
In Other News...
Stars Loss To Colorado Exposed An Early Problem They Can't Ignore
The Stars 3-2 loss to Colorado still had a few encouraging individual takeaways, even if the final result exposed an issue they need to clean up quickly. Wyatt Johnston was out because of an illness, which pushed Sam Steel into a second-line role, and he handled the added responsibility well enough to keep Dallas forward mix functional in a tougher matchup.
Tyler Seguin was another bright spot, scoring on the power play and continuing to show how much he can still drive the offense when Dallas needs a lift. But the bigger concern was discipline, and one costly penalty undercut the kind of effort that might otherwise have earned the Stars something more from a game they were in right to the end. [Read more 🡒]
Roope Hintz Sent A Message Stars Fans Wont Ignore
Roope Hintz brought a little extra edge to a familiar Central Division matchup Tuesday night, and it came in a way Stars fans do not often see from one of the teams quietest stars. The Dallas forward got involved in a second-period scrap with Nathan MacKinnon, adding a new layer to a rivalry that already had some history between the two players. For a Stars team that leans on Hintz for skill and composure, the moment stood out as much for its timing as for the message it sent.
Hintz followed it up with a goal in the third period, turning a chippy game into one that felt even more personal. Colorado had its own response, and the sequence only sharpened the stakes in a matchup between two contenders that rarely need extra fuel to get going. Between the fight, the scoring, and the reaction from both benches, this was the kind of night that reminded everyone these games can carry more than just points in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Oettinger Is Giving Dallas Everything But One Problem Remains
Jake Oettinger has been giving the Stars exactly what they need at the start of this season, piling up elite numbers while helping Dallas allow the fewest goals in the NHL through five games. His current .963 save percentage and 0.74 goals-against average tell the story of a goalie carrying his end of the load, and for most of the night against Pittsburgh, he looked every bit like the force Dallas has been leaning on.
The only blemish came late in the third period, when Connor Dewar finally broke through and ended Oettingers run without a goal against after 188 minutes and 52 seconds. Even then, Oettinger finished with 20 saves on 21 shots, but the Stars still left with a 2-1 shootout loss, which leaves the bigger question hanging over all of that early-season brilliance: how long can Dallas keep winning when one slip can still decide everything? [Read more 🡒]