The playoff race is only continuing
to heat up and, unfortunately for some teams, the long season is starting to
wear on certain players. The Dallas
Stars are one of those clubs that has been hit by the injury bug at a very
inopportune time. With injuries to Kari
Lehtonen, Cody Eakin, Shawn Horcoff, and, most noteworthy, Rich Peverley; the
Stars have suddenly found themselves thin at certain positions. Missing just Lehtonen and Peverley on Tuesday
night in St. Louis, the Stars found something extra deep within themselves and
sprung the mammoth upset of the Blues in overtime by a score of 3-2. However, after Eakin and Horcoff were
announced as unfit for Friday’s contest against Calgary, Dallas looked out of
sorts for long stretches of play and ultimately fell to the Flames in a
shootout for a final score of 4-3. As
they begin a three-game road trip to Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia;
the Stars will need to get healthy as quick as possible if they are to maintain
their slight hold on the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Here’s the latest on the players currently
injured for the Stars:
Rich
Peverley
– In the wake of his extremely frightening incident last Monday night, the
highly-skilled veteran will sit out the remainder of the season while he has a permanent
corrective procedure performed on his heart at a clinic in Cleveland. Peverley had hoped to delay this procedure
until the end of the season, but now must focus on salvaging his career as
former Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer was unable to do (an interesting read
about Fischer’s incident and recovery process can be found here).
NOTE:
I read in an article about the incident that everyone should learn how to use
an Automatic External Defibrillator. The
process takes about five minutes to comprehend and the devices are pretty much
“idiot-proof.”
Kari
Lehtonen
– The Big Finn will likely return much sooner from his concussion than many of
us expected, as beat writer Mike Heika reported Saturday that he will travel
with the team on the upcoming road trip.
Lehtonen’s initial prognosis was not at all positive, which makes his
swift recovery all the more noteworthy.
While Kari likely will not dress for Sunday’s contest in Winnipeg, he
could suit up in either Pittsburgh on Tuesday or Philadelphia on Thursday.
Cody
Eakin
– The Stars’ coaching staff was rather evasive in answering questions about Eakin’s
status prior to Friday night’s game against Calgary, which he sat out, but they
revealed Saturday that Eakin was hit in the foot by a shot in St. Louis on
Tuesday night. The Ginger Ninja
practiced on Saturday and is currently listed as probable to play on Sunday
against the Jets. If he does play, the
coaching staff will have to decide whether or not Chris Mueller or Travis Morin
is sent back to the Texas Stars.
Shawn
Horcoff
– The Stars’ fourth-line center was apparently struck on his hand by an errant
shot at practice on Thursday and could be out for an extended period. He will not travel with the team initially
this week, and Lindy Ruff was quoted as saying, “he might be a while.”
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