Roope Hintz Still Sidelined and the Stars Head to Minnesota Without Their Top-Line Center
The Dallas Stars are heading into Game 3 without their guy. Roope Hintz, the 29-year-old center who plays in his eighth NHL season, stayed home Tuesday when Dallas traveled to Minnesota for the Western Conference first-round playoff series. The injury has been a nightmare: lower-body damage dating back to March 6 against Colorado, followed by an unspecified setback in recovery that's kept him off the ice. Coach Glen Gulutzan had already signaled this was coming, but now it's official. Hintz won't suit up for Game 3 on Wednesday night, and Game 4 on Saturday? That's looking very doubtful too.
The Timeline Gets Longer
Here's the thing: Hintz hasn't even been skating on his own yet. That's what Gulutzan revealed between Games 1 and 2, and it tells you how serious this is. The injury happened when Hintz got tangled up with Nathan MacKinnon along the boards in the second period of that Colorado game six and a half weeks ago. He went down hard, reached at the back of his left leg, and couldn't put any weight on it coming off the ice. That's the kind of moment where you know something's not right.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at Kalshi"He's not traveling. Like I said, Game 3, won't be there. Game 4 (on Saturday), I would say is very doubtful," Gulutzan said before the team flight took off. "Hopefully by the time we get back, we're in a good spot, and he's in a good spot."
Translation: the earliest Hintz could potentially return is Game 5 back in Dallas next week, assuming the Stars can take care of business in Minnesota without him.
Series Tied Up North
The series sits 1-1 right now. Minnesota came out swinging with a 6-1 win in Game 1, but Dallas answered back hard on Monday night with a 4-2 victory. Now the Stars have to go into Minnesota and win without their top-line center. That's a tough ask when you're missing that kind of firepower, but Gulutzan is keeping the door open that Hintz could rejoin the team if things break right.
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