‘Comes At A Good Time’: Dallas Stars Get Four-Day Break With Miro Heiskanen Day-To-Day After Win Over San Jose Sharks

DALLAS — For the second game in a row, the Dallas Stars played without Miro Heiskanen on Saturday night, and they still beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 at American Airlines Center. Heiskanen remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Dallas will not play again until it hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.

Heiskanen was not on the ice when the Stars practiced Friday. That afternoon, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan already had the break in mind.

“If he’s ready tomorrow, we would use him, but I think that’s doubtful. We’ll see,” Gulutzan said Friday. “If he’s not ready for tomorrow, those four days are really going to help.”

By Saturday night, the list of Stars working through bumps and bruises had grown beyond Heiskanen, according to Gulutzan. A few days of rest and practice could help the whole group, he said.

“To be honest with you, this little break comes at a good time,” Gulutzan said.

Miro Heiskanen Has Been Out Since Tuesday In Washington

Heiskanen got hurt in Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals, where he took one shift in the second period and never came back out, finishing with 9:41 of ice time. The Stars called him day-to-day the next day, and the team’s website reported after Wednesday’s practice that the injury was not as serious as it first looked. He still sat out Thursday’s 2-1 shootout loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets and then Saturday’s game, and Dallas came away with three of a possible four points.

Before the injury, Heiskanen had 3 goals and 8 assists through 15 games while averaging 24:53 of ice time and 3:37 a night on the power play. Most of those minutes have gone to Thomas Harley, who played a season-high 28:31 in Columbus. Harley said before Saturday’s game that the heavier load is one he likes carrying.

“I enjoy playing 26 a night plus first power play,” Harley said. “Hopefully, I can do all the things.”

Against San Jose, Harley played 6:23 on the power play and 3:34 on the penalty kill and had a goal and 2 assists, all with the man advantage. Gulutzan spoke about Harley’s Columbus game before Saturday’s matchup.

“He was good,” Gulutzan said. “I think he has been good.”

Heiskanen ran the most productive power play in the NHL last season. Harley had been playing about a minute a night with the man advantage before the injury.

“He adds a little bit of a dimension,” Gulutzan said of Harley. “He likes to shoot the puck. You can see that and he takes on a little bit more of a shooter than a distributor. Miro would be the opposite, so sometimes different pieces coming in can bring different skill sets to a power play.”

Two seasons ago, Heiskanen needed knee surgery after a Jan. 28, 2025, collision in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights and missed the final 32 games of the regular season. Esa Lindell was on that blue line, too, and he said the defensemen know how to cover for one another.

“I think we do a good job of filling in,” Lindell said. “I think we all understand and play well together, and we like it when we get to play more.”

Sam Steel Returns And Trey Taylor Stays In The Lineup

Sam Steel came back Saturday after missing the Columbus game for personal reasons, and he played 4:33 on a penalty kill that went 5-for-6. His absence Thursday had forced another round of line changes up front, something Gulutzan has dealt with all season.

“We haven’t had a lot of consistency with the lines because guys are coming in and going out,” Gulutzan said. “But we’ve got to plug and play and just move forward. We pride ourselves on all guys doing the things that need to be done…the non-negotiable.”

Three other players remain out. Oskar Back has been on long-term injured reserve since Oct. 24 with a finger injury from Oct. 14, Kyle Capobianco went on injured reserve Oct. 31 after hurting his leg Oct. 28, and Matt Duchene is expected to miss about three months after core surgery, the timeline the Stars gave Oct. 12.

On defense, rookie Trey Taylor has stayed in the lineup with Heiskanen out, and Saturday was his third NHL game. Lindell and Tyler Myers were expected to absorb the most extra minutes behind Harley, and against San Jose Lindell logged 7:24 short-handed while Myers played 6:03 on the kill.

“I thought everybody stepped up,” Myers said.

Dallas is 10-5-2 and has allowed 39 goals, the fewest in the NHL. After Winnipeg, the Stars host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and the Florida Panthers on Sunday before a pair of games at Vegas on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19, both at 9 p.m. CT.