The Dallas Stars will be without one of their best players as they take on the red-hot Boston Bruins tonight on the road. As announced by the team prior to puck drop, defenseman Miro Heiskanen is out for the game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Heiskanen logged nearly 27 minutes in last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, and it’s unclear when he suffered the injury.
Heiskanen has had a solid start to the season defensively, but he has just one point at even strength through six games (and none at five-on-five). He’s matched up back on his natural left side alongside Colin Miller, and together, the two-way play of the pairing’s been a big reason behind Dallas’ 4-1-1 start to the year. The third overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft finally has the spotlight to himself on the Dallas blueline with the departure of John Klingberg in free agency.
It appears the injury is short-term at this time, as the team has opted not to place him on injured reserve (at least not yet). In his place, Joel Hanley will draw in on the third pairing for his first appearance of the season, while Esa Lindell will move up alongside Miller.