Heiskanen did not travel with the Stars to Boston and remained in Dallas to be with his wife for the birth of his child. The Stars are also without Jani Hakanpaa (upper-body) and will see Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot make their season debuts. Thomas Harley will likely see the greatest boost in playing time and offensive deployment on Monday with Heiskanen out of the lineup.
On the front end of a back-to-back, the Stars will turn to Oettinger for the fifth straight game. Oettinger saw his seven-game winning streak snap on Saturday when he allowed four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%) in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Before that contest, Oettinger was playing remarkably, allowing two or fewer goals in four straight (4-0-0) while posting a tremendous .944 SV%. That said, the Stars will be without Miro Heiskanen (personal) on Monday and are +121 road underdogs against the Boston Bruins.
DeSmith will start on Monday, his first appearance in five games. The 32-year-old DeSmith has been serviceable when called upon this season but is riding a three-game losing skid (0-0-3) and has allowed three or more goals in each contest while posting an ugly .876 SV%. The Canucks enter action as -125 road favourites against the Minnesota Wild.
Blumel was recalled on Sunday purely for salary cap purposes as the Stars have opted to return him to the Texas Stars and have recalled defensemen Derrick Pouliot and Alex Petrovic instead. Blumel has been having an impressive season with the Texas Stars (AHL), scoring 38 points (20G / 18A) in 46 games.
With Nils Lundkvist experiencing concussion-like symptoms, the Dallas Stars have opted to recall defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from the Texas Stars. Petrovic has played 263 career NHL games, mainly with the Florida Panthers between the 2012-13 and 2018-19 seasons, but has played exclusively in the NHL since 2019-20. The 31-year-old Petrovic has 16 points (3G / 13A) in 44 games with Texas (AHL) this season.
Dadonov was limited to only 8:35 time-on-ice before exiting February 10th's 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body fracture. Dadonov had three points (2G / 1A) in his last five games before his injury and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Lundkvist suffered an upper-body injury early in Thursday's win in Nashville. Head coach Pete DeBoer said Lundkvist was dealing with concussion-like symptoms, so don't expect him to play Saturday afternoon. Expect Joel Hanley to replace him on the Stars' third pair.
Lundkvist exited Thursday's 9-2 win over the Nashville Predators with only 1:34 time-on-ice after being on the receiving end of a controversial hit from Jeremy Lauzon. The 23-year-old Lundkvist has 15 points (2G / 13A) in 43 games this season.
Oettinger is riding a six-game winning streak and will return to the crease for the third straight game on Thursday. The 25-year-old Oettinger has been tremendous since the All-Star break, allowing two or fewer goals in three games (3-0-0), and posting an outstanding .951 SV%. If Oettinger continues to play at this elite level, the Stars will be a force to be reckoned with down the stretch and into the playoffs. Dallas is a -151 road favourite against a Nashville Predators club that defeated them 6-3 last month.
Smith missed the Devils' previous 10 games due to a knee injury but was activated from Injured Reserve and is available on Tuesday vs. Nashville. The 35-year-old hybrid defencemen will make a welcome addition to the Devils' blueline with his one goal, four assists, 31 SOG, and 47 PIMs. Santeri Hatakka was reassigned to Utica (AHL) in a corresponding move.
Oettinger will start for the sixth time in the last seven games and attempt to extend his winning streak to six. After struggling for much of the season, Oettinger has strung together two excellent performances, allowing only three goals and saving 65 of his last 68 shots faced (.956 SV%). The Stars are slight -115 home favourites on Tuesday against a Carolina Hurricanes team that has won five of their last six (5-1-0).
Dadonov was limited to only 8:35 time-on-ice before exiting the game with a lower-body fracture. Dadonov had three points (2G / 1A) in his last five games. The opening in the Stars lineup could create an opportunity for the Stars to recall their top prospect, Logan Stankoven, who is currently the AHL scoring leader.
Smith was placed on the Injured Reserve retroactive to January 15th Thursday so that the Devils' could open up cap space to recall Santeria Hatakka. The 34-year-old Smith is nearing a return to the lineup after participating at practice on Friday but is still considered day-to-day and will be out Saturday. He has five points (1G/4A) in 34 games played so far in 2023-24.
Dumba returned to practice on Tuesday and will re-enter the Coyotes' lineup after a three-game absence. The 29-year-old Dumba has been limited to only five points (2G / 3A) in 44 games with the Coyotes this season while playing predominantly on a defensive pair with Travis Dermott.
