It’s hard to believe a player who couldn’t put any weight on his left leg in the third period of a game would be ready for playoff hockey 2,000 miles away just over 36 hours later.
Crazier things have happened, but even Stars coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t sure minutes before boarding the team’s charter flight to Edmonton Sunday whether Hintz would be on board with him.
”Getting tests this morning,” DeBoer said. “We’re waiting on those test results.”
Anyone outside the Stars locker room likely won’t know whether Hintz will play in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Edmonton Oilers until 1 p.m. Sunday when DeBoer gives his pregame press conference.
But after the pain he was in late Saturday night following a slash by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Stars had to play the next two games, if not more, without him.
The Hintz injury was bad for the Stars in every way. Dallas was already down 3-0 at home when their top-line center cross checked Nurse in the back, prompting a retaliatory slash that hit him in just the right spot where he was left in excruciating pain on the ice. He was helped off by his teammates and Stars staff and never returned.
The call on the ice was a five-minute major penalty, but after review, it was downgraded to a two-minute minor, even though the NHL rulebook states that when a slash causes an injury, “a major penalty must be assessed.”
Not only did the Stars lose one of their top forwards, but Edmonton paid no price. The two-minute power play wasn’t enough to jumpstart the Stars offense late Saturday, and Nurse did not face any further discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
A person familiar with the situation told The Dallas Morning News Sunday the reason for the lack of further action was that the policy is to judge the action itself, rather than the end result. While Nurse’s slash led to an injury, the action itself was not seen as more than a common slash that occurs multiple times a week in the league.
Now, as the series heads to Edmonton, it does so with uncertainty and animosity. As unknown as Hintz’s status may be, DeBoer remained certain about one thing — that if Oilers center Connor McDavid were the player injured, the officials would have responded differently.
“I see it exactly what I saw last night, and I stand by exactly what I said last night,” DeBoer said.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t like DeBoer’s statement implying the Oilers captain receives preferential treatment from the league.
“Obviously, after a game you’re emotional, especially when your player doesn’t return,” he told TSN. “But to say that Connor McDavid gets preferential treatment, I’ve been coaching for about 200 games for the Oilers, and I haven’t seen Connor get that special treatment.”
A series that started rather uncontentious — and one that was similarly professional last spring — is poised to take a turn, whether Hintz plays Sunday or not. The Finnish forward’s teammates echoed DeBoer’s frustrations and called out Nurse’s intent on the slash. It’d be shocking if there isn’t a little extra effort by Mason Marchment, Jamie Benn and Lian Bichsel when finishing their checks on Nurse for the rest of this series.
But the Stars remain tied in a 1-1 series that now becomes a best-of-5 with Edmonton holding home-ice advantage. They’ll need to prepare to be without a skilled two-way forward, who has produced 11 points in 15 playoff games, played on Dallas’ best line and contributed on both the power play and penalty kill.
The Stars also had the matchup advantage on home ice, and that often resulted in Hintz’s line going head-to-head with McDavid’s.
“I would love one of those other lines to grab it where I feel comfortable playing them against McDavid consistently,” DeBoer said. “I think Wyatt Johnston’s line we tried and they got swamped a little bit. We tried Duchene’s line a little bit, they got swamped a little bit. Those guys have to help us. There’s nowhere to hide now going on the road.”
The greater concern, though, may be the Stars’ ability to produce goals on the road, especially without Hintz. Dallas was shut out for the fourth time this postseason in Game 2 and for the first time at home. The Stars have struggled to remain consistent on offense, especially on the road.
But to keep their season alive, somebody will have to step up. Mikko Rantanen has had his moments, as has Mikael Granlund. Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen have delivered in key situations as well.
Still, Dallas needs more from others — Johnston, Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment and Jason Robertson, just to name a few.
DeBoer didn’t shy away Sunday from calling on Robertson to score. If Hintz is out, the Stars will be without two of their top-line forwards from last playoff run (Joe Pavelski is the other).
And Robertson spent last game on the fourth line, having recorded just two points in eight games since returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him the whole first round.
“He’s got to earn some more time on ice,” DeBoer said. “He’s got to play better, that’s the bottom line. He’s not alone there. But give us a reason to play more.”
Heading on the road possibly without their best center, there’s no hiding for the Stars. It’s imperative they steal at least one game at Rogers Place to avoid their backs being against the walls for the series’ last three.
Fans and analysts across the league have been calling for it for weeks, but it’s time someone new steps into the spotlight.
“We’ve dealt with that,” DeBoer said about overcoming injuries. “We wouldn’t be sitting here if we weren’t able to deal with that or prepared to deal with that.”