Stars hope Miro Heiskanen back in time for playoffs

Gulutzan also mentioned that they are hoping to get Heiskanen back in time for the Stars’ first round series against the Minnesota Wild. While there was no confirmation that would be the case, it sounds like Dallas is shutting down Heiskanen for the remainder of the regular season as a precaution with nothing to play for.

Heiskanen sustained the injury during Thursday’s 5-4 win over the Wild, leaving towards the end of the first period. While there’s no confirmation as to what injured him, he did take this hit from Wild center Ryan Hartman during his last shift of the game, which was likely the cause of the injury.

Heiskanen’s injury does come at an opportune time for the Stars, so long as he doesn’t miss any playoff action. While the Stars still have something to play for, as they haven’t clinched home-ice advantage for their first-round series against the Wild, Dallas has a four-point lead over Minnesota with three games each to go, so the Stars would need to lose out to fall to third in the Central.

Heiskanen finishes the season with his second-best offensive season to date, as he has nine goals and 54 assists for 63 points in 77 games. That falls 10 points short of his career best of 73 points, which he got in 2022-23.

The Stars haven’t confirmed what their defensive lineup will look like for the remainder of the regular season, but they have Kyle Capobianco and Alex Petrovic on their NHL roster to fill in for Heiskanen. Capobianco has two goals and three assists for five points in 32 games, while Petrovic has two goals and seven assists for nine points in 52 games.