How much will injuries impact Stars’ playoff success?

While they have been one of the best teams during the regular season, the Dallas Stars are facing the possibility of losing two of their most important pieces at the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Stars are going to be shorthanded heading into their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, a team that didn’t finish all that far behind them in the Central Division standings. Head coach Glen Gulutzan announced that center Roope Hintz will miss the first two games of the series. On top of that, it’s still up in the air whether defenseman Miro Heiskanen will be back in the lineup when the puck drops on the playoffs.

Regardless, going up against a hungry and exciting Minnesota team, the Stars would much rather have all hands on deck if they want to get out of the opening round and make another deep run in the playoffs.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Colby Cohen discussed how the notable injuries could hurt Dallas’ chances against the Wild.

Colby Cohen: I don’t think even subtracting a big-time player, I think structurally they’re kind of a well-oiled machine, and they still have other big, big names, right? Other guys who can really get it done. When you have the luxury of having Matt Duchene be able to move up to your second line, that is a nice luxury to have. For me, the bigger question mark really is Heiskanen. I know they were without him, to start the playoffs last year, right? So, I do believe that to be a problem, though, especially if he’s dealing with this lower-body injury. We don’t know if it’s a groin or a hamstring…that starts to affect your mobility. That’s a guy who thrives on how well he moves laterally and how well he gets up and down the ice. So, I still think Dallas would have the edge, even with some of the health question marks.  I think that they’ll be okay. I think that they’re enough of a well-oiled machine.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…