Miro Heiskanen Undergoing Imaging To Evaluate Lower-Body Injury

The Stars lost Miro Heiskanen in last night’s win over the Wild with an apparent lower-body injury, toepicking as he received a hit from Minnesota center Ryan Hartman. He was never actually ruled out for the game – Dallas said he was questionable to return after he left in the first period – but it’s now clear he’ll miss at least one more contest tomorrow against the Rangers. General manager Jim Nill told Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News that the full extent of Heiskanen’s injury is still unknown and that he needs an MRI today to come up with a return timeline.

At this stage, anything more than a day-to-day or week-long designation would impact Heiskanen’s availability for the beginning of the playoffs. The Stars only have three regular-season games left and could begin their first-round series, which is already set against the Wild, as soon as eight days from now.

It’s not as if Heiskanen is the only injury Dallas’ back end is dealing with, either. Nils Lundkvist was scratched last night due to illness and remains day-to-day. Trade deadline pickup. Tyler Myers has missed three of the last five with an undisclosed injury and could sit out again this weekend after re-aggravating it, head coach Glen Gulutzan told Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports.

Those absences obviously pale in comparison to the prospect of losing Heiskanen, but the strain already on Dallas’ depth before the postseason starts is something worth monitoring. After knee surgery derailed Heiskanen’s season in January last year and kept him out until midway through the second round, he hasn’t missed a game due to injury this season. That’s allowed the 26-year-old to do some of his best work, racking up 54 assists and 63 points in 77 games. He’s averaging above 25 minutes per night for the third time in his career, ranks third on the team with 148 shots on goal, and has a team-high 39 takeaways as well.

Of course, the Stars managed to win one playoff round without Heiskanen’s services just last year. They surely hope they won’t have to do so again with the toughest path in the league through the first two rounds ahead of them.

If he does need to miss some playoff action, more will be needed out of Thomas Harley. The Stars have split him and Heiskanen up at even strength over the past couple of years, and while he looked like a true #1 in Heiskanen’s absence last season, he’s taken a step back in 2025-26. The 24-year-old has been limited to a 6-29–35 scoring line in 67 outings, his worst point-per-game output of his three full NHL seasons, and his possession numbers have taken a considerable hit. His 47.0 CF% and 51.9 xGF% are both career lows.