"There's been a lot of ups and downs," said Klingberg, who missed six games earlier with a lower-body injury. "It's been two weird injuries, and outside of the injuries it still has been going up and down with my game. You deal with it, and you move on."
Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said he expects Klingberg will do just that. Bowness had Klingberg on the top defensive pair in practice Monday with Esa Lindell, and the guess is he will step back into his normal role.
"If you go back to last year's playoffs, he was probably our best defenseman," Bowness said. "It just didn't kick off (this season) like we all wanted it to, but that happens. But just before he was hurt, he was playing really well, he was playing the best hockey of this season, so we need to pick it up right away. We've got three games before the break, and they're three important games."
The Stars on Tuesday face one of their most important games of the remaining schedule. They are one point ahead of Colorado for second place in the Central Division and if the playoffs started today, the two would meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Stars have already beaten the Avalanche three times this season, and this is the last regular season meeting of the year for the two teams.
READ MORE: [Despite added spotlight, Heiskanen showing just how high his ceiling can be]
So emotions will be running high, and Klingberg will have to be able to step right in and contribute.
"He's a big-minute guy, he helps us offensively, he helps us move the puck out of our zone, helps us coming through the neutral zone, playing faster with his quick ups, and he's obviously a threat on the blueline to make more plays," Bowness said. "So he gives us more offensive upside, for sure, and when he's on his game and he's moving that puck out and he's joining the rush, he's a real threat."
That said, Klingberg doesn't want to try to do too much. For one, the knee injury was painful. He had a puck strike his knee cap at the Winter Classic, and the puck split the skin above the knee cap. He said he didn't realize the extent of the injury until he took his pads off after the game.
"I could barely walk. I was actually in a lot of pain," Klingberg said. "I don't know if it just hit me in the perfect spot; it was like a normal shot block, but then I took my pads off and there was blood everywhere."
