Stars former first-round pick out week-to-week

Heiskanen left the game in the third period after a controversial collision with Vegas captain Mark Stone. The Golden Knights winger, who alleged he tripped over the stick of Dallas center Roope Hintz, fell into Heiskanen’s left knee and thigh (video via ESPN) and was assessed a minor penalty for tripping. Heiskanen needed assistance leaving the ice.

DeBoer said the initial injury designation came after Heiskanen underwent an MRI on Wednesday. They’ll have a firmer idea of his return timeline after a meeting with a specialist on Thursday.

Aside from his participation in the 4 Nations tournament, Heiskanen’s absence is a humongous loss for a thinned-out Dallas defense group in the lead-up to the break. The 25-year-old has taken on increased importance this season after it lost Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpaa to free agency and bought out Ryan Suter, averaging north of 25 minutes per game for the second time in his career.

Still, the ever-steady Heiskanen is having a down season offensively. That can partially be attributed to Dallas’ struggling power play — he has just seven points with the man advantage through 50 games after notching 21 power-play points in 71 appearances last season. But overall, his 0.50 points per game is his lowest pace in four years.

While he still leads the Dallas blueliners in scoring, possession metrics also point to Thomas Harley, not Heiskanen, as the most effective two-way threat this season. That’s not to say Heiskanen has been concerning defensively by any stretch, but the Stars control 55.5 percent of shot attempts with Harley on the ice at even strength compared to 53.5 percent with Heiskanen. 

They have spent a decent portion of the season on different pairings after routinely serving as partners last season, but Heiskanen’s possession numbers still improve when paired with Harley this year.

Nonetheless, Dallas’ weakened blueline depth will be tested with news that Nils Lundkvist is also dealing with an upper-body injury after sitting out the last three games as a presumed healthy scratch, DeBoer told Assimakopoulos. The team announced it has recalled defenseman Kyle Capobianco from AHL Texas in a corresponding transaction, and he’ll make his season debut against the Canucks on Friday.

Capobianco, 27, signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Stars over the summer after two years in the Jets organization. He cleared waivers to begin the season and headed to AHL Texas, where he’s served as their top power-play option and leads team D in scoring with 28 points (2 G, 26 A) in 35 games. His +13 rating also leads Baby Stars defenders. Friday will mark his first NHL game since suiting up once with Winnipeg in the 2023 postseason.

Initially a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2015, Capobianco has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 73 career NHL appearances. Forty-five games came with the Yotes in the 2021-22 campaign, his final season in the organization. He’s historically graded out slightly below average defensively in his NHL minutes and will likely see far more limited even-strength usage than Heiskanen, although he could be in line to take a chunk of his power-play minutes with Lundkvist also sidelined.