Dallas Stars’ Miro Heiskanen Questionable For Columbus After Upper-Body Injury
WASHINGTON — Miro Heiskanen was hit into the boards by Washington Capitals forward Justin Sourdif on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena, during his first shift of the second period. The Dallas Stars ruled the 27-year-old defenseman out for the rest of the night with an upper-body injury.
Heiskanen finished with 9:41 of ice time in a 6-5 win. The NHL’s status report on Wednesday listed him as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Stars said Wednesday that he is day-to-day.
All five Washington goals came after Heiskanen left. Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said the Capitals’ push came in the third period, when they scored twice and pulled within 6-5 with 1:02 remaining.
“We’re going to have him evaluated again,” Gulutzan said. “We’re hoping right now that it’s not as serious as we first thought, so we’ll know more tomorrow. I think a little bit more about how he wakes up. So we’ll re-evaluate then.”
Sourdif was also credited with Washington’s fourth goal, at 12:55 of the third, when an Anthony Beauvillier shot went in off him and Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger.
Heiskanen’s Minutes and Production
Before Tuesday, Heiskanen was averaging 25:58 a night. The 9:41 in Washington pulled his average down to 24:53 through 15 games.
His 11 points this season break down to 3 goals and 8 assists. A year ago, he put up 63 points across 77 games, 9 of them goals and 54 assists. His 25:28 of ice time per game ranked fourth in the league.
A lower-body injury kept him out of the last three games of that regular season in April.
Dallas took Heiskanen third overall in 2017 and signed him in July 2021 to an eight-year, $67.6M contract that runs through 2028-29. Going into Tuesday, he had 357 points in 566 regular-season games.
Dallas Defense Already Down Kyle Capobianco
Defenseman Kyle Capobianco got hurt Oct. 27 in a collision behind the net with Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils, and two days later Gulutzan put his absence at about four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Dallas recalled Trey Taylor from AHL affiliate Texas in a corresponding move, and he debuted Oct. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens.
In the two weeks before Tuesday, the Stars had played games without Esa Lindell, Sam Steel, Radek Faksa, Wyatt Johnston, Oskar Bäck, and Capobianco at various points. Lindell was back in Washington and had an assist. So was Faksa, after four games out with a lower-body injury. Surgery will keep forward Matt Duchene out for three months.
Dallas came into the game allowing 22.3 shots on goal per game, the fewest in the league. Washington had 25.
Thursday’s game in Columbus starts at 6 p.m. CT and streams on Prime Video. Dallas is back at American Airlines Center on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, a 7 p.m. CT start.
