1:21 p.m.: Heiskanen has officially been ruled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, robbing Finland of their top defenseman. They’ll need an injury replacement in short order, presumably the Rangers’ Urho Vaakanainen or the Sabres’ Henri Jokiharju.
11:38 a.m.: Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is out week-to-week with the lower-body injury he sustained in Tuesday’s overtime win over the Golden Knights, head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters Thursday (including Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News). As a result, the star blue-liner has been ruled doubtful for next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off, which would have marked his first international appearance for Finland since the 2022 World Championship.
Heiskanen left the game in the third period after a controversial collision with Vegas captain Mark Stone. The Golden Knights winger, who alleged he tripped over the stick of Dallas center Roope Hintz, fell into Heiskanen’s left knee and thigh (video via ESPN) and was assessed a minor penalty for tripping. Heiskanen needed assistance leaving the ice.
DeBoer said the initial injury designation came after Heiskanen underwent an MRI on Wednesday. They’ll have a firmer idea of his return timeline after a meeting with a specialist today.
Aside from his participation in the 4 Nations tournament, Heiskanen’s absence is a humongous loss for a thinned-out Dallas defense group in the lead-up to the break. The 25-year-old has taken on increased importance this season after they lost Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpää to free agency and bought out Ryan Suter, averaging north of 25 minutes per game for the second time in his career.
Still, the ever-steady Heiskanen is having a down season offensively. That can partially be attributed to Dallas’ struggling power play – he has just seven points with the man advantage through 50 games after notching 21 power-play points in 71 appearances last season. But overall, his 0.50 points per game is his lowest pace in four years.
While he still leads Dallas blue-liners in scoring, possession metrics also point to Thomas Harley, not Heiskanen, as their most effective two-way threat this season. That’s not to say Heiskanen has been concerning defensively by any stretch, but the Stars control 55.5% of shot attempts with Harley on the ice at even strength compared to 53.5% with Heiskanen. They’ve spent a decent portion of the season on different pairings after routinely serving as partners last season, but Heiskanen’s possession numbers still improve when paired with Harley this year.
Nonetheless, Dallas’ weakened blue-line depth will be tested with news that Nils Lundkvist is also dealing with an upper-body injury after sitting out the last three games as a presumed healthy scratch, DeBoer told Assimakopoulos. The team announced they’ve recalled defenseman Kyle Capobianco from AHL Texas in a corresponding transaction, and he’ll make his season debut against the Canucks on Friday.
Capobianco, 27, signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Stars over the summer after two years in the Jets organization. He cleared waivers to begin the season and headed to AHL Texas, where he’s served as their top power-play option and leads team D in scoring with 28 points (2 G, 26 A) in 35 games. His +13 rating also leads Baby Stars defenders. Tomorrow will mark his first NHL game since suiting up once with Winnipeg in the 2023 postseason.
Initially a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2015, Capobianco has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 73 career NHL appearances. Forty-five games came with the Yotes in the 2021-22 campaign, his final season in the organization. He’s historically graded out slightly below average defensively in his NHL minutes and will likely see far more limited even-strength usage than Heiskanen, although he could be in line to take a chunk of his power-play minutes with Lundkvist also sidelined.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
His last though should be 4 nations. Getting healthy for who pays you which is the Dallas Stars.
Totally agree. I was supportive of Petro’s decision to skip the 4 nations. It was in the best interest of his team but most importantly his health.
Glad to see one Russian in the tournament, There is nothing Finnish about the great Aleksander Barkov. LOL.