The Stars still don’t know if banged-up forwards Radek Faksa and Mason Marchment can play in Game 3 against the Golden Knights as they try to overcome a 2-0 series deficit. As relayed by The Dallas Morning News’ Lia Assimakopoulos, they’re both game-time decisions after sustaining undisclosed injuries in Game 2.
Dallas lost their services in the third period of Wednesday’s game, as neither player took a shift in the final 10 minutes of the 3-1 loss. The potential loss of Marchment is an especially large blow to the Stars’ elite secondary scoring, which Vegas has managed to keep quiet through two games. He’s one of three Stars with a goal in the series so far and set career highs across the board in the regular season with 22 goals and 53 points in 81 games. He’d been skating on their second line with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin.
While dragged down by his late-game absence Wednesday, Faksa’s only averaged 9:01 through two playoff games and has a -1 rating. The fourth-line shutdown pivot has gone 6/10 in the faceoff dot with nine hits and was centering a line with Evgenii Dadonov and Sam Steel. Dallas recalled top forward prospect Mavrik Bourque from AHL Texas yesterday, and he could slot into the lineup if Faksa and Marchment are unavailable and make his postseason debut just days after being awarded the MVP for the 2023-24 AHL season. The more experienced Ty Dellandrea and Craig Smith are also available to enter the lineup.
Other Central Division updates from a busy day of playoff hockey:
- The Predators lost defenseman Spencer Stastney to an upper-body injury in last night’s Game 3 loss to the Canucks, and he won’t be back anytime soon. He’s been ruled out on a week-to-week basis, per The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina, potentially sidelining him for the rest of the first round. The 24-year-old was on the receiving end of a hard hit from Canucks forward Dakota Joshua that was initially declared a major penalty for boarding, causing his head to hit the glass. He remained on the ice for a few seconds after the collision but skated off under his own power. Officials downgraded the penalty to a two-minute minor upon review. The first three games of this series were the first of Stastney’s playoff career, posting a -1 rating and unfavorable possession metrics in bottom-pairing minutes. Stastney, a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Preds, made a career-high 20 appearances in the regular season with two goals, two assists and a +9 rating. That wasn’t the only piece of news stemming from a controversial first-period collision last night, either. Preds center Michael McCarron was fined $2K by the Department of Player Safety today for his interference penalty (video link) on Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith, per the league. He was assessed a minor penalty on the play.
- Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the odds-on favorite to take home the Vezina Trophy, but you wouldn’t know it based on his early playoff showing. While the team in front of him is conceding nearly 40 shots per game, his .871 SV% through three games is far below expectations, and his -2.3 goals saved above expected (MoneyPuck) rank 17th out of 19 playoff goalies. That led to some remote speculation that Winnipeg may turn to above-average backup option Laurent Brossoit to tie the series in Game 4, but head coach Rick Bowness confirmed today that won’t be the case (via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels). Hellebuyck has a .913 SV% in 43 career postseason starts. Additionally, the team has avoided the worst with defenseman Brenden Dillon, who sustained a hand laceration from Avs winger Brandon Duhaime’s skate at the end of last night’s loss. He’s only been ruled out day-to-day, Bowness said, and has avoided major ligament damage. If he’s unable to go for tomorrow’s Game 4, expect the 6’7″ Logan Stanley to re-enter the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch last night.