The Dallas Stars will head into their weekend back-to-back without Lian Bichsel, and they still don’t have Miro Heiskanen back in the mix.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said after Thursday night’s 8-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets that Bichsel will miss both games this weekend because of a lower-body injury. He left in the first period and never returned, finishing with 1:14 of ice time across two shifts.
Dallas spent the rest of the night down to five defensemen, and the workload piled up fast. Thomas Harley led the group with 26:27, Esa Lindell followed at 24:27, and Nils Lundkvist logged 24:19.
Tyler Myers played 21:14, including 4:00 on the penalty kill, while rookie Trey Taylor finished with 18:17. Harley and Lundkvist each picked up two assists, but Winnipeg still took over with five goals in the second period and the final six goals of the game.
Bichsel, 22, has one assist in 18 games this season and was averaging 16:19 of ice time entering Thursday.
Heiskanen, meanwhile, missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury after getting hurt Nov. 3 in a 6-5 win at the Washington Capitals. He was hit into the boards by Justin Sourdif and left early in the second period.
Gulutzan said Wednesday that Heiskanen was skating on his own but had not yet practiced with the team. He said getting back into team practice would put Heiskanen close to returning.
“We hope maybe on the weekend, but it’s definitely not tomorrow,” Gulutzan said Wednesday.
Heiskanen has three goals and eight assists in 15 games, and his 24:53 average ice time led the Stars when he was injured.
Dallas is already without forward Matt Duchene, who had core surgery, defenseman Kyle Capobianco, who has a leg injury, and forward Oskar Bäck, who is dealing with a finger injury.
Thursday’s game also came with a loss on Winnipeg’s side, as defenseman Dylan DeMelo exited in the first period with a lower-body injury. Jets coach Scott Arniel said DeMelo is week to week.
The Stars host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT, then face the Florida Panthers on Sunday at 7 p.m.
CT before visiting the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at 9 p.m. CT.
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