Injury bug bites again with Kiviranta out, Benn a game-time decision

Stars (1-0-0, 2 points) vs. Predators (2-2-0, 4 points)

DALLAS --The Stars have dealt with injury problems quite a bit in the recent past, so the fact that they might have lost two forwards in the past two days is par for the course.
Jamie Benn is a game-time decision after suffering a lower-body injury in the season opener. He missed practice Saturday and the morning skate Sunday. Joel Kiviranta left practice Saturday with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured Sunday morning. The Stars already were missing Tyler Seguin (expected to return in April after off-season hip surgery) and Blake Comeau (in the COVID-19 protocol), so this could just test the team depth even more.
"It's next man up. We're going to continue that approach this year," Stars coach Rick Bowness said in reference to how the Stars dealt with injuries in the playoffs. "We keep the taxi squad involved in every meeting. Any video we're showing the team, they're seeing. We try to run the same practices, so they're very familiar with how we want to play. The coaches spend a lot of time with them on the ice. They are in our meetings, they're part of this team, and they've got to be ready to go."
The Stars on Sunday activated Tanner Kero and will likely put Justin Dowling in the lineup. They already have fairly new players in Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson and Nick Caamano among the forwards, so it's only the second game of the season and the shuffle is on.
"It just seems like our team has faced a lot of adversity. We have a very strong mentality in terms of our team and in terms of our approach. Next guy comes in, and I know it's a cliché, but we've done it. We've seen it works," said veteran forward Andrew Cogliano. "With our system and how we play, it always gives us a chance to be in games and win games. The players who come in fall in line and play the right way, and that gives us a good opportunity."

Benn went down in a collision with Nashville's Viktor Arvidsson in Friday's game. He went to the dressing room, came back for four shifts, and then did not return for the third period. If he is out, it will be the first time since Tyler Seguin joined the Stars in 2013 that both Benn and Seguin will not be in the lineup. That's also the captain and alternate captain possibly being out.
"Other guys need to step up," Cogliano said. "Leadership needs to step up in certain situations, and we'll see what happens tonight."
If Kero plays, it will be his first game with the Dallas Stars. The 28-year-old forward went to Michigan Tech and has played 72 games with the Blackhawks over three seasons. He played 49 games with the Texas Stars last season and had 33 points (8 goals, 25 assists).
The Stars chose to call up Kero over Rhett Gardner and Joel L'Esperance.
"He's played in the league before," Bowness said. "We'll have to see what our final decision will be. Tanner has more NHL experience. He can play more left wing and center, so he's got versatility there."

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Veterans impressed with Dellandrea's debut

Dellandrea quietly made his NHL debut Friday. The 20-year forward was drafted 13th overall by the Stars in 2018 and has a high pedigree. And while he posted 70 points (32 goals, 38 assists) in 47 games for Flint in the OHL last season, starting on the checking line with Radek Faksa and Andrew Cogliano is a good way to get his feet wet in the NHL.
"When he played world juniors, he was a defensive player and penalty killer, so he's got a real sense for that," Bowness said. "He's a reliable player who understands the game and makes good reads and he skates very well. And he competes very hard. You throw those things together and you've got a pretty disciplined player who is going to grow and become a big part of this team."
Cogliano said he and Faksa have been impressed with Dellandrea and knows he will get better with each game. He said he believes the process of adapting to the NHL is a cerebral one.
"I think sometimes less is more. That's something I found out early in my career," Cogliano said. "The NHL is a much more positional league than people think. When you play your position, you don't do too much. A lot of the time the puck ends up finding you because a lot of the guys are playing the game the right way. I think he'll figure that out as he's coming up. He's a phenomenal kid and player. He's a kid who wants to learn, he wants to be an NHL hockey player and I think he's going to be like that very quickly."

Bowness said Dellandrea understands the learning curve.
"He's going to experience what every rookie does in our league. You start out and then you realize how tough the competition is night in and night out," Bowness said. "He's a very competitive kid who can skate well. He can play right wing or center. His responsibilities should go up, because he's going to continue to get better. We need to get an injection of youth in our lineup, get some speedier guys in our lineup, young kids who can fly like he can, who can work and compete and give us that energy every night."
The scouting report on Dellandrea is he has great hockey sense, and he said he likes the mental level of the NHL.
"There's definitely more thinking and more time to prepare, and that's fun," he said. I've noticed how there is a lot of thinking, a lot of tight detail. You're trying to figure out a game and win mentally, physically. There's a more read and react and adjusting, and I like that."

To be determined

If Benn plays, the lineup changes will be minor. If he doesn't, they could be pretty big.
Jason Dickinson in practice Saturday moved from center on the fourth line to the left wing spot on the top line with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov. While Rhett Gardner practiced in Kiviranta's spot Saturday, Jason Robertson could jump up there Sunday. Jason Dowling would move into the center spot on the fourth line in place of Dickinson and Kero could take Robertson's place on the fourth line.
Anton Khudobin is expected in goal. He stopped all 34 shots he faced in the season opener against Nashville.

By the numbers

5

The Stars scored five power-play goals on eight chances in the season opener Friday. It's the most power-play goals in a game for the team since it moved to Dallas in 1993.

4

That's the amount of points for Joe Pavelski in the season opener (two goals, two assists). It ties his career best in a game and was his 13th four-point game.

199

Stars forward Alexander Radulov has 199 career assists.

He said it

"That's a tough thing to do, working hard every day not knowing if or when you're going to play. But the guys have all bought in, much like they did in the bubble. When we need a player, we sit down as a staff and ask: `Who fits the role?' We know that the player who we put in is ready to go."
-- Bowness on how players like Kiviranta and Caamano have jumped into the lineup and found success in the past two seasons.

Stars projected lineup

Jason Dickinson - Roope Hintz - Denis Gurianov
Jason Robertson - Joe Pavelski - Alexander Radulov
Andrew Cogliano - Radek Faksa - Ty Dellandrea
Tanner Kero - Justin Dowling - Nick Caamano
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen - Jamie Oleksiak
Andrej Sekera - Mark Pysyk
Anton Khudobin
Jake Oettinger
Scratched: Taylor Fedun, Joel Hanley.
Injured/Illness:Jamie Benn (lower body), Joel Kiviranta (lower body), Blake Comeau (COVID protocol).
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.