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Stars’ Lian Bichsel Out Six Weeks

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Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel needs surgery to address the lower-body injury he sustained Sunday against the Senators and will miss around six weeks of action, head coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters today (including Peter Baugh of The Athletic). Dallas hasn’t made a roster move, but with no healthy extra defensemen available anymore on their road trip, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an injured reserve placement for either Bichsel or Thomas Harley, who’s out week-to-week with a lower-body issue, to open up a roster spot.

Bichsel left the 6-1 drubbing of the Sens midway through the second period and didn’t return. He was on the receiving end of what seemed like an innocuous hit by Ottawa winger Fabian Zetterlund in the neutral zone, but he lost an edge, and his left leg buckled awkwardly against the boards. He didn’t put any weight on his leg and needed assistance getting off the ice.

That’s now three regular defenders the Stars are without. In addition to Bichsel and Harley, Nils Lundkvist remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury in the fourth game of the season. Harley’s absence meant an elevation in minutes for his fellow lefty in Bichsel, who’s played almost exclusively on a pairing with Alexander Petrovic this year, with middling results.

The 2022 first-round pick has three points and a +6 rating in 26 appearances, but his under-the-hood numbers aren’t as promising. Dallas has controlled just 40.5% of shot attempts when Bichsel is on the ice at 5-on-5, the third-worst figure on the team behind Adam Erne and Ilya Lyubushkin. A heavy bit of defensive zone workload doesn’t help his case, but considering Petrovic has posted better numbers in isolation in every meaningful category, it’s clear the 21-year-old still has plenty of development to do defensively before he’s ready to challenge for top-four minutes.

Still, their left-side depth looks quite weak until Harley’s able to get back into the fold. Lefty Miro Heiskanen has played his offside all year long on the top pairing with Esa Lindell. Behind Lindell, it’s now mid-season call-ups Kyle Capobianco and Vladislav Kolyachonok holding down the fort on the second and third pairings. Those two have done as well as can be expected and actually lead the team in even-strength shot-attempt share at 51.8% and 53.8%, respectively.

The Stars haven’t played great possession hockey this season – as to be expected, given injuries have also robbed key forwards Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene of significant time – and have ridden an unsustainably high 13.5% team shooting rate. That’s propped their record all the way up to 17-5-4, even riding a four-game win streak to sit comfortably in second place in the Central Division behind the league-leading Avalanche. Regression is bound to bring their points percentage down at some point, but the longer they can ride the wave with their defensive depth stretched as thin as it is, the healthier margin they’ll build for the back half of the schedule.

Duchene Medically Cleared To Return But Still Dealing With Lingering Symptoms

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  • The Stars have been without center Matt Duchene for nearly six weeks due to an upper-body injury. DLLS Sports’ Sam Nestler notes (Twitter link) that the 34-year-old has already technically been medically cleared to return.  However, he continues to experience some lingering symptoms.  As a result, head coach Glen Gulutzan indicated that Duchene will still need to be out a little while longer to get properly conditioned to return.  Duchene has a goal and an assist in four games this season after tallying 82 points in 2024-25.

Mikko Rantanen Suspended One Game

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This afternoon the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen has been suspended one game. As a violation under Rule 23.6, Physical Infractions Category, Rantanen incurred two game misconduct penalties in his last 41 games, which automatically carries a one game suspension. Such infractions have occurred in an especially short timeline however, just the last three games for Rantanen. It is a bit unusual for the 29-year-old, who has never been categorized as much of a dirty player.

Late in last Tuesday’s loss versus the Islanders, Rantanen was ejected after shoving Alexander Romanov into the boards in a dangerous play where the defenseman skidded into the boards with no chance to stop. The hit landed Romanov on injured reserve, but ultimately, the league chose not to suspend Rantanen.

Meanwhile, apparently unperturbed, just last night Rantanen viciously boarded Calgary forward Matthew Coronato, where he again was thrown out of the game with a misconduct. Although Coronato turned away at the last second, making himself especially vulnerable, Rantanen was already flying in, set to deliver a hard hit on the numbers. Thankfully Coronato returned to the game, but with a noticeable nose injury, as the Flames triumphed in a shootout.

Now, given that the current one game suspension is automatic with no further mention, additional discipline could come to Rantanen for the Coronato incident as well, especially considering what all transpired with the 29-year-old’s reckless play throughout the week. For now, Dallas will prepare to take on Edmonton on Tuesday without their superstar, who is tied for the team lead in points.

Rantanen Fined For Embellishment

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  • While Stars winger Mikko Rantanen didn’t receive any supplemental discipline for his hit on Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov earlier in the week, he is a little lighter in the wallet. Today, the league announced that he has been fined $2K for his second citation of embellishment this season.  The first instance came back on October 16th while the second was a week and a half ago against Ottawa.  The fine money will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Dallas Stars Activate Jamie Benn

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The Dallas Stars announced today that captain Jamie Benn has been activated off of long-term injured reserve (LTIR). The move positions Benn to make his 2025-26 season debut as soon as tonight, when the Stars take on the New York Islanders.

Benn, who has very rarely missed time due to injury throughout his nearly 1,200-game NHL career, missed the early portion of the season due to a collapsed lung he suffered in the preseason. Benn missed only two games in 2024-25, and played in all 82 Stars games in each campaign from 2021-22 through 2023-24.

While the 36-year-old isn’t what he once was on the ice (he won the Art Ross Trophy in 2014-15 as the league’s top scorer) he’s still a valuable contributor to a Stars team that has been among the league’s best in the 2020’s. Benn scored 16 goals and 49 points last season while averaging 15:18 time-on-ice per game, with some regular power-play time and sporadic usage on the penalty kill.

Benn’s return to the Stars’ lineup comes at a good time for the team, as they are currently dealing with quite a few injuries. While much of the damage lies with the team’s defense (both Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist are out) there are still absences on offense.

Veteran forward Matt Duchene is currently on LTIR, meaning the Stars have had to make do without their leading scorer from last season. With today’s activation, the Stars receive crucial offensive reinforcement and get back from injury one of their key on and off-ice leaders.

Dallas Stars Recall Vladislav Kolyachonok

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As expected, the Dallas Stars have recalled a defenseman to their active roster for tonight’s contest. According to a team announcement, the Stars have recalled defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok from the AHL’s Texas Stars. 

Given that Dallas only had five healthy defenseman on the roster before this morning’s move, it’s a guarantee that Kolyachonok will draw into the lineup this evening. Although they haven’t been placed on the team’s injured reserve, the Stars are without Thomas Harley for the next few weeks and Ilya Lyubushkin for the next few days.

Tonight will be Kolyachonok’s first NHL appearance since the end of last season. Dallas acquired the Belarusian this summer in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins that landed Matt Dumba in Pennsylvania. The Penguins acquired him last season on the waiver wire from the then-named Utah Hockey Club. He finished the season with two goals and seven points in 35 games with a -12 rating, averaging 13:01 of ice time per game.

Although he hasn’t been the highest-scoring blueliner for the AHL Stars this season, Kolyachonok has the most NHL experience of any of Dallas’s recall options. He’s registered three assists in 10 games with 10 PIMs.

Regardless of Kolyachonok’s recall, it’ll be interesting to see how the Stars split up their defensive pairings this evening. Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Lian Bichsel are each high-quality defenseman in their own right. However, Dallas will have to fill the remaining gaps with Alexander Petrovic, Kyle Capobianco, and Kolyachonok without any additional help.

Additionally, with Kolyachonok’s recall, the Stars still only have 22 players on the active roster. Factoring in the reports from Sunday indicating that captain Jamie Benn could return within the next few days, Dallas has left a spot on the roster open for him tonight.

Dallas Stars Place Matt Duchene, Adam Erne On LTIR

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Dealing with several injuries on their blue line, the Dallas Stars have opened up some cap space to recall a defenseman. The Stars announced they’ve placed forwards Matt Duchene and Adam Erne on the long-term injured reserve.

Technically speaking, Duchene is already eligible to return from his LTIR placement since it was made retroactive to October 18th. Duchene’s undisclosed injury has limited him to just four games this season, during which he has scored one goal and one assist.

It’s been an unfortunate beginning to the 2025-26 campaign after signing a four-year, $18MM contract with the Stars this offseason. The former third-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft was a point-per-game player with Dallas last year, scoring 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games. He was expected again to be a contributing middle-six center for the Stars this season.

Fortunately, the long-term loss of Duchene has been offset by the exceptional play from Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz. The pair has combined for 15 goals and 37 points for the Stars this season in 33 games, with the former contributing offensively nearly every game, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 19 contests.

Meanwhile, Erne’s eligibility for return has been pushed back a few weeks. Dallas placed Erne on the injured reserve a few days ago, and he won’t have satisfied the requirements for return from LTIR until December 5th.

Still, the Stars didn’t allude to a potential return date for Erne when they placed him on the IR, although today’s news gives additional clarification. The nine-year veteran had scored two goals and three points in 14 games for Dallas before suffering the lower-body injury.

Placing both players on LTIR allows the Stars to activate Jamie Benn, who’s very close to returning, at some point over the next few days. Additionally, Dallas will also have the flexibility to recall a defenseman — likely Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Stars’ Thomas Harley Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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The Dallas Stars will be without one of their top defenseman for the next few weeks. Dallas announced that Thomas Harley is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Although Harley’s most recent game came in the Stars’ lopsided win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, there’s reason to believe that he’s been playing through the injury for some time. Given their salary cap space, it’s expected that Kyle Capobianco will fill in for Harley for the time being.

It’s safe to say that Harley will be a huge missing piece for Dallas moving forward. The former first-round pick has arguably been the Stars’ top defenseman for the last three years, scoring 32 goals and 107 points in his previous 175 games. Additionally, Harley was the highest-scoring defenseman for the Stars last postseason, adding four goals and 14 points in 18 games.

Fortunately, Dallas has built a solid lead in the standings that they can likely absorb Harley’s loss. At the time of writing, the Stars are four points up on the Utah Mammoth for second place in the Central Division standings and are five points up on the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Moving forward, it’s likely that young blueliner Lian Bichsel will get a larger look in the Stars’ top-two defensive pairings. Also drafted 18th overall like Harley, Bichsel is in his second year in the NHL. At this point, he’s scored four goals and 11 points in 56 games with 213 hits, averaging 14:46 of ice time per night.

Jamie Benn Upgraded To Day-To-Day

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The Dallas Stars are only a few days away from the return of their captain. Team radio host Bruce LeVine reported earlier that Jamie Benn has been upgraded to a day-to-day recovery timeline, and there was even a brief discussion of him playing this evening.

Even without their captain, the Stars have gotten off to a solid start to the 2025-26 season with an 11-4-3 record. Dallas quickly signed Benn to a one-year, performance-laden contract in what could be the last of his NHL career. Last season, Benn finished sixth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • Moving to where the Stars originated from, the Minnesota Wild are dealing with some injury troubles up front. The Wild announced that veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko will miss tonight’s contest with a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has gotten off to a relatively decent start, scoring two goals and 10 points in 18 games.

Dallas Stars Place Adam Erne On Injured Reserve

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The Dallas Stars will be without one of their depth forwards for at least the next little while. The Stars announced they’ve placed Adam Erne on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury, retroactive to November 11th.

Although he’s far from a high-profile talent, Erne was one of the most surprising signings from the summer. The 2024-25 campaign was the first time in nine years that Erne hadn’t registered an NHL contest.

He signed a professional tryout agreement with the New York Rangers in the early portion of the preseason heading into the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, Erne wasn’t able to capitalize on the tryout and instead had to settle for a PTO with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. After registering one assist in 10 games for the Wolf Pack, Erne was released from his PTO in mid-November and didn’t play another minute of professional hockey.

Still, leave it to a cap-strapped team with a significant need for depth to give Erne his next opportunity. The former 33rd overall selection of the 2013 NHL Draft required another PTO again this September, though he managed to turn it into a one-year, two-way contract this time around.

He’s played fairly well early on for Dallas. Erne has skated in 14 games so far, scoring two goals and three points while averaging 9:37 of ice time and recording 44 hits. The expectation is that Erne will return around American Thanksgiving.

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