Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen left last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights after suffering a lower-body injury in a nasty collision with Mark Stone (as per Sportsnet). Stone was tripped by Stars forward Roope Hintz on the play and lost his balance, slamming headfirst into Heiskanen’s knee. Heiskanen reached for his left knee almost immediately and was in agony as he was escorted off the ice by his teammates before heading up the tunnel to the Stars’ dressing room. He did not return. Stone was uninjured on the play but was given a two-minute minor penalty for tripping.
The minor penalty call irked Stars head coach Peter DeBoer who wondered why the refs didn’t call a five-minute major to review the incident. DeBoer then added that he’s coached Stone before and knows he isn’t a dirty player, but didn’t understand why the refs didn’t have a second look.
Heiskanen is expected to play big minutes for Finland at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off after being named to the team last June. He was among the first six players announced, and now with this injury, it throws his availability into question.
The 25-year-old remains one of the top defensemen in the NHL, finishing top 12 in Norris Trophy consideration in four of the past five seasons. While his offensive numbers have dipped this season to five goals and 20 assists in 50 games, he remains one of the NHL’s best two-way defensemen.
The Stars have yet to provide an update on Heiskanen’s status, however, it is safe to assume he will undergo evaluation at some point in the next day or two. Dallas doesn’t play again until Friday against Vancouver.
Stone was tripped by roope Hintz? Looked like he dove across him to me…
@DigbyGuy — You have to watch the entire video, and see the hit from multiple angles. Hintz does reach out to make contact with Stone’s left skate to trip him, but from some angles it doesn’t look like much of a trip. Either way, Heiskanen’s might be on the shelf for a little while, making the 4NFO an iffy proposition for him right now.
didn’t trip him. “watch all the angles”
@sippycups — “…it doesn’t look like much of a trip.”, as stated above.
anyone saying that that’s a trip… is trippin’