HIGHLIGHTS
- Roope Hintz ruled out for Games 1 and 2 of the Stars’ first-round series against Minnesota
- The Finnish center has been out since March 6 and his return timeline is unclear
- Full details on how Dallas plans to navigate the series without him below
The Stars are going into the playoffs without Roope Hintz.
Head coach Glen Gulutzan confirmed Tuesday that the 29-year-old center will miss the first two games of Dallas’ first-round series against Minnesota.
“Certainly, Roope won’t be in in Game 1 or 2,” Gulutzan said. “We don’t know when he could come back, or if he could come back. We’ll see.”
“If” is a different word than “when.” That distinction matters.
Hintz has been out since March 6 with a lower-body injury suffered after getting tangled up with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. He was ruled out for the rest of the regular season a few days ago, and now the timeline has stretched even further. In 53 games before going down, the Finnish center had 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists), sixth on the team in scoring.
Dallas has gone 11-6-2 without him and won four straight heading into Wednesday’s season finale against Buffalo. The team has managed. But managing in the regular season and managing in a playoff series against Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild are two very different things.
He is not the only question mark. Miro Heiskanen is also dealing with a lower-body issue and his status for Game 1 is uncertain. Sam Steel is still working his way back from a groin injury. Dallas could realistically be without its top center, its No. 1 defenseman, and one of its most versatile forwards to open the series.
The Stars have home-ice advantage and finished with 110 points, second in the West. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston both hit 45 goals. Mikko Rantanen has been a force since arriving from Colorado. The roster is deep enough to survive short-term absences.
But this is a franchise that has lost in the Western Conference Final three years running. The window is open and it will not stay that way forever. Losing Hintz in Round 1 against a Minnesota team with 104 points and the league’s second-ranked power play makes the path harder than it needed to be.
Minnesota finished 2-1-1 against Dallas in the regular season, with Quinn Hughes putting up four points across their last two meetings. The Wild are healthy. The Stars are not. If Dallas has to wait until Game 3 or later to get Hintz back, the margin for error gets thin in a hurry.
