The Dallas Stars had more than a loss to sort through Tuesday night. In a 5-1 home defeat to the New Jersey Devils, they also watched defenseman Kyle Capobianco leave the game late with a lower-body injury after an apparent leg issue following a hit from Devils forward Timo Meier.
Capobianco’s exit added another concern to a blue line that’s already been tested. Esa Lindell, the Stars’ top penalty-killing defenseman, has been out for over a week and remains on injured reserve.
For Capobianco, the injury comes at a time when his role had grown beyond a simple depth assignment. The 29-year-old has already appeared in five games this season, most often on the third pair with veteran Tyler Myers. After signing a two-year, one-way deal worth $850,000 in 2026-27 and $900,000 in 2027-28, he had become more important than expected, and his absence could now leave the Stars thinner on the back end.
The night itself was rough across the board for Dallas. Casey DeSmith was in net as the Devils scored five times on 27 shots, while the Stars’ offense never got going and managed just 17 shots against Connor Hellebuyck in his debut for the visitors. It was only the third time this season Dallas had been held to one goal or fewer, and the defeat snapped a five-game winning streak.
The Stars’ schedule now moves on to a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens, followed by a Halloween meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
In Other News...
Connor Hellebuyck Just Exposed What Rivals Still Think Of Devils Fans
Connor Hellebuycks move to New Jersey has already stirred up more than the usual trade chatter, because the goalie arrived after a contentious exit from Winnipeg and into a market that still seems to draw outside assumptions about its fanbase. The Devils paid a real price to bring him in, with multiple players and draft picks changing hands, so the attention on the deal has been about more than just the roster fit. It has also reopened the familiar debate over how rivals view Devils supporters, especially when the conversation starts drifting north into Canada.
For New Jersey, the reaction matters because it speaks to the bigger picture around the teams place in the league. The piece gets at how Hellebuycks arrival has been received in both markets, and why the response says as much about lingering misconceptions as it does about the trade itself. Even now, the part of the story that feels most revealing is not what happened on the ice, but what his move seems to have exposed about the way some people still talk about Devils fans. [Read more 🡒]
Former Devils Forward Is Already Proving New Jersey Right
When the Devils passed on extending Paul Cotter a qualifying offer, it looked like a clean roster decision and nothing more. He left as an unrestricted free agent, landed with the Vancouver Canucks, and got off to a strong start in his new home before the season began to tilt the other way. In New Jersey, the front office moved on quickly, reshaping that spot in the lineup with Jesper Boqvist and Amadeus Lombardi.
Now Cotters early surge in Vancouver has given way to a tougher stretch, one that has even landed him in healthy-scratch territory. For the Devils, it is at least a reminder that the bet they made on their own depth chart is holding up so far, even without the player who once seemed like a straightforward part of the forward mix. [Read more 🡒]
Former Red Wings Prospect Is Making Detroit's Trade Look Risky
Amadeus Lombardis arrival gave the Devils another intriguing young piece to watch after a busy offseason that saw the club reshuffle its forward depth and add more scoring options. Picked up from the Red Wings, the former Detroit prospect wasted little time getting his first taste of the NHL with New Jersey, making his debut in the 2026-27 season opener and then following it up with his first points shortly after.
For a Devils team that has leaned into movement and flexibility around its roster, Lombardis early progress is the kind of development that can make an acquisition feel especially useful. He did spend a brief stretch as a healthy scratch before getting back into the lineup, and that up-and-down start is part of the early evaluation here, with Detroits side of the trade now looking more complicated as he begins to settle in. [Read more 🡒]