The news has come down on Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak after he was stretchered off the ice last night, and could be considered better than expected. Polak has been discharged from hospital, but did suffer a small fracture of the sternum according to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic. He will be re-evaluated in a week. Shapiro also reported last night that Jason Dickinson will be out for at least a week and Blake Comeau will be out multiple weeks. Both have been placed on injured reserve, while Rhett Gardner and Nicholas Caamano have been recalled.
Polak was going in for a hit on Boston Bruins forward Chris Wagner in the Stars’ corner when both players fell. The defenseman’s whole upper body crashed hard into the boards and he lay near-motionless on the ice for some time before being taken off on a stretcher. He’ll have to miss some time, but hopefully be able to return at some point in the near future. This isn’t the first time Polak has dealt with a broken bone, as he previously broke his leg while playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and had battle to reclaim his NHL career.
In 77 games with the Stars last season, Polak recorded one goal and nine points while logging over 19 minutes a night. While he might not be needed quite that much this year, he’s still an important part of their defense and will be missed while he recovers.
Dickinson, Comeau and Polak join the ranks of the injured for the Stars alongside Corey Perry, who was designated as injured/non-roster and Martin Hanzal, who has been moved to long-term injured reserve.
Sucks for him that he’s hurt but this is actually a blessing in disguise for Dallas. It gives Sekera time to form a solid pair with Miro without Montgomery going back to Polak on the 2nd line at the first sign of trouble. Polak just isn’t very good at hockey..
Ouch thats a bad injury.