Bowness' exit from game another chapter in Stars' adversity-filled season

Adversity continues to challenge the Stars this season, but the hope is a team hardened by misfortune over a couple of years can handle whatever is thrown its way.
Coach Rick Bowness was put into the NHL's COVID-19 protocol in the middle of Sunday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, meaning Dallas had to adjust on the bench by placing assistant John Stevens in the role of acting head coach. The Stars hung tight in a 1-0 loss, but they had to fly to Chicago without Bowness and now must prepare for a two-game series with the Blackhawks that starts Tuesday in just one more tough situation.

READ MORE: [Stars coach Rick Bowness leaves game against Hurricanes because of COVID-19 protocols]
Stars general manager Jim Nill, who is traveling with the team, said the hope is that Bowness simply had a false positive in one of the league's daily tests. Goalie Anton Khudobin had a positive test on Saturday morning, and then tested negative in subsequent tests, so he is expected to be available for Tuesday's game against the Blackhawks.
There is not a timetable on a potential return for Bowness, but something similar could occur.
"We're very comfortable," Nill said. "Rick has no symptoms at all. He's been vaccinated, he has no symptoms, and we're very comfortable in presuming this is a false positive."

Still, it's just one more dose of adversity. Khudobin couldn't play Saturday or Sunday because of his false positive tests, so rookie Jake Oettinger took both games in net. Oettinger stopped 78 of 81 shots for a 1.53 goals against average and .963 save percentage in the two games. That was just one sign that the team can make a stand even in the toughest of situations.
Dallas was without injured forwards Radek Faksa and Jason Dickinson, and that meant changing every line again Sunday. Carolina was motivated after a loss on Saturday, and the Hurricanes definitely controlled the game. Still, the Stars had a chance to tie late.
"We're obviously not happy with the results, but we kept it 1-0 and gave it all up until the end," said defenseman John Klingberg. "I'm proud of the boys. We battled through it. It's a tough schedule now, but it's the same for everyone. We have key players hurt, but we keep battling. We didn't get the results we wanted, but at the end of the night we battled 100 percent, that's all we can do."
Captain Jamie Benn said he felt the game was physical and intense.
"That was playoff hockey right there -- close game, physical, goalies played well," Benn said. "It would have been nice to get one there, but it didn't happen tonight."

The process was a bit head-spinning. The Stars players and coaches get tested a few hours before each game. Typically, the results come back the next morning. This time, the NHL was alerted mid-game that Bowness had a positive test. That meant the team and the league had to react.
"Rick has been vaccinated. We think it's a false positive, but protocol, once it is flagged, there are different levels with the PCR testing," Nill said. "There are different levels of the infection rate. He was a very low grade, but it's still positive, and so out of safety concerns, he was pulled."
Defensive assistant Stevens, who has been head coach of the Flyers and the Kings, took over as head coach -- a move he made last season in St. Louis when Bowness was dealing with illness. Stevens continued to run the defense, while assistants Derek Laxdal and Todd Nelson ran the forwards. The team actually played better in the third period than they had in the second and they pushed hard to the finish.
"It's nothing new to us," said Benn. "We dealt with it last year, we're dealing with it again this year, and we're just going to keep pushing forward."
That said, it is something different every day.

"It's weird times," said Klingberg. "First Dobby and now Bones, I don't know. He's fully vaccinated as far as I know. What I heard is Dobby was false positive, and hopefully Bones is false positive, as well. It's out of our control, it is what it is and you have to deal with it."
Now they will head to Chicago and try to regroup and fight for the last playoff spot in the Central Division. Maybe players will be healthy, maybe Bowness will be cleared and taken out of COVID protocol, maybe the hockey gods will give the team a break.
Or maybe they'll just find a way -- just like they did in getting to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
"If you were around in the bubble, you saw this team and what they were faced with and how they handled it. We didn't make excuses. If something was going on that day, we dealt with it," said Stevens. "I think the leadership of the group is really strong starting with Jamie Benn, and I just think it's like water off a duck's back.
"It is what it is, we'll deal with it. Next man up, and we've had great contributions from next men up this year. I think the group deserves a lot of credit. I think we put ourselves right back in the fight. I think adversity is something that we've come to expect every day and we know how to deal with it."

Up next

at Blackhawks; Tuesday 7 p.m. CT
United Center, Chicago
TV: Bally Sports Southwest Plus, ESPN+ (blackout restrictions apply)
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.