DALLAS — Wyatt Johnston missed the first game of his NHL career Tuesday night. The Dallas Stars scratched their center with an illness shortly before puck drop against the Colorado Avalanche, then lost 3-2 at American Airlines Center.
Johnston had played in 333 consecutive regular-season games since his debut on Oct. 13, 2022, at the Nashville Predators. The Associated Press put the streak at 395 games when the playoffs are included, and Tuesday’s game fell four years to the day after that first one.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said after the game that Johnston came down ill right before puck drop, will not travel to Denver, and has been ruled out of Wednesday’s rematch at Ball Arena.
Dallas dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen without him, and Kyle Capobianco came into the lineup on the blue line.
Johnston has 4 assists and no goals through five games this season, and three of those assists came in a 4-0 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 8. Before that game, he said he was not focused on his own numbers and tries not to treat any one opponent differently, The Hockey News reported.
“Every game is different, although it’s the same teams and same systems, every team is different,” Johnston said. “So for me to have all the information to prescout and all that, but it’s just coming in and doing what I can to best help the team win.”
Wyatt Johnston’s Streak Began With A Goal In Nashville
A year after Dallas took him 23rd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Johnston made the opening-night roster as a 19-year-old. In that first game, he finished a cross-ice pass from Tyler Seguin on the power play 4:22 into the third period of a 4-0 win.
He played all 82 games in each of his first four seasons. Last season, Johnston scored 45 goals and added 41 assists for 86 points. His 27 power-play goals led the NHL, and his 45 goals tied Jason Robertson for the team lead.
Johnston signed a five-year, $42 million contract extension with Dallas in March 2025.
Last season, while Johnston was pushing for a spot on Canada’s Olympic team, Gulutzan said he flies under the radar next to the league’s other top young centers.
“He’s a young player, very crafty, and is a very coachable young man,” Gulutzan said.
Johnston kept his own focus on Dallas during that Olympic push, and on what was still ahead of him.
“I’m 22 years old, and I have a lot of growth ahead of me on and off the ice with my game,” Johnston explained.
Seguin, who assisted on that first goal, scored on the power play Tuesday and set up Roope Hintz for Dallas’ second goal. Martin Nečas scored twice for Colorado.
Stars Thin At Forward With Johnston, Matt Duchene Out
Johnston’s absence came one day after Dallas general manager Jim Nill announced that Matt Duchene had surgery to repair a core injury and will miss about three months. Duchene has not played this season after Dallas placed him on long-term injured reserve Oct. 1.
Joel Kiviranta is dealing with a lower-body injury and is not expected back until Wednesday, The Dallas Morning News reported. Kiviranta has 1 goal in 2 games this season.
Dallas traded Mavrik Bourque in the offseason after he scored 20 goals in 82 games last season. Arttu Hyry has centered the third line with Duchene out.
Colorado played Tuesday without defenseman Cale Makar, who stayed in Denver with his wife as the couple awaits the birth of twins. The Avalanche also scratched Zachary L’Heureux late with an upper-body injury.
Wednesday’s game in Denver starts at 7:30 p.m. CT on TNT. After that, the 2-3-1 Stars visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday and come home Oct. 20 to face the Boston Bruins, the first of six straight home games.
