First Shift 🏒
The good news from the Stars' practice on Wednesday is that Miro Heiskanen’s upper body injury is less serious than first believed.
The bad news is it’s still an injury to one of the team’s best players.
Dallas had an optional practice in Columbus and Heiskanen stayed off the ice after leaving Tuesday’s 6-5 win over Washington after his first shift of the second period. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan listed Heiskanen as “day to day.”
“He’s going to be ‘day to day’ for a bit,” Gulutzan said. “We’ll see how he responds today. It won’t be long, so that’s a good thing.”
Gulutzan didn’t rule Heiskanen out for Thursday’s game against the Blue Jackets, but there is a real chance the 27-year-old defenseman could miss a game. Heiskanen is the team’s minutes played leader at 24:53 and is off to one of his best starts with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 15 games.
Teammate Roope Hintz calls him the best defenseman in the NHL, so any absence is going to be a challenge for the Stars, but Dallas managed an injury to Esa Lindell for five games earlier in the season, so it can do it again.
“We went through it when Esa went out. Those two are a huge part of our D core, and it’s never easy when they go out during a game,” said defenseman Lian Bichsel. “We stepped up and were able to win the game.”
Lindell saw his minutes go from an average of 21:38 to 26:32 on Tuesday. Tyler Myers jumped up from 15:45 to 21:19. Thomas Harley continues to play big minutes at 24:43. He had two assists and was plus-3 in Heiskanen’s absence Tuesday.
“I think Harls all year has played with a heightened level of intensity,” Gulutzan said. “I think this is a good opportunity for him. He’s more than capable of keeping us going.”
Gulutzan said he has challenged the blue line to make improvements this season. Myers is getting a bigger bite after joining the team in the spring last season. Bichsel, 22, and Nils Lundkvist, 26, are becoming regulars this season.
“I think that group is a great group, but I also think that group has room for growth,” Gulutzan said. “I truly believe that. I think each guy has areas that he can grow in. I think we can be more dynamic back there, I think they all have that ability. When you’re trying to make advancements, you’re trying to squeeze something out of everybody. We talked earlier in the year about being comfortable with some discomfort and I think our defense has room for growth.”
If Heiskanen is out, rookie Trey Taylor will step in. The 24-year-old was signed as a free agent out of Clarkson University in 2025 and had a great year in the AHL last season. He made his NHL debut last Thursday, and has served as the team’s seventh defenseman with Kyle Capobianco on IR.
“I thought his first game, he looked very good,” Gulutzan said of a 10:44 performance against Montreal. “He played simple, he skated well, didn’t look out of place. I thought he did some good things.”
