Hintz left Game 4 after playing only eight shifts and 6:35 TOI due to an upper-body injury and will be out for Game 5 on Wednesday vs. Colorado. The 27-year-old centre will be replaced by Radek Faksa but will be a massive loss with his two goals, six points and six PIMs in 11 playoff games before his injury.
Oettinger stopped 28 of 31 shots (.903 SV%) in Game 2 as Dallas evened their second-round series with a 6-3 win over Colorado and will remain with the same lineup for Game 3. The 25-year-old has been a wall this offseason between Dallas' crease, with his 5-4-0 record, 2.24 GAA and .914 SV%. He will head to Colorado to take on the Avalanche on the road, who have won five of their first seven playoff games.
Faksa has missed some time in the postseason due to injury but will be a healthy scratch on Thursday with Mason Marchment returning to the lineup. Expect Evgenii Dadonov to move down the lineup to replace Faksa on the fourth line.
Oettinger was sensational in the Stars' opening seven-game series as he helped lead Dallas over Vegas with a 4-3-0 record, 1.95 GAA and .925 SV%. The 25-year-old surpassed the 30-win mark for a third straight season (35) but had his first ever below .910 SV% since joining the NHL four seasons ago (.905 SV%). He will host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, who have won their last four games after taking down the Winnipeg Jets in a five-game opening series.
Kiviranta missed the Avalanche's previous two games due to an undisclosed injury and is a game-time decision for Game 1 vs. Dallas after missing practice on Monday. The 28-year-old averaged 10:14 TOI/GP in the opening series and had an assist, two PIMs, three SOG and a +2 plus/minus in three games.
Oettinger stopped 28 of 29 shots (.966 SV%) in a hard-fought Game 6 loss and will start as expected as Dallas hosts Vegas for Game 7 on Sunday. The 25-year-old has started every game of the playoffs thus far for Dallas and holds a 3-3-0 record, 2.10 GAA and .921 SV% through six games. He'll look to close out the series on Sunday as he hosts the Vegas Golden Knights, who finished the regular season 13th in goals per game (3.21).
Faksa has not appeared since Game 2 due to an undisclosed injury but will draw back into the lineup on Sunday for Game 7 vs. Vegas. The 30-year-old did not pick a point through his first two games played but did have two SOG and -1 plus/minus while averaging 9:00 TOI/GP.
Faksa has been sidelined since Game 2 but "will be an option" for Game 6. It's unclear who Faksa will replace if he plays, but it will likely be Craig Smith or Ty Dellandrea.
Faksa has been out since Game 2 due to an undisclosed injury and will remain out for Game 5 on Wednesday vs. Vegas as he did not participate in warm-cups. The 30-year-old centre had seven goals and 19 points in 74 regular season games but has yet to pick up a point while averaging 9:00 TOI/GP his first two games played of the playoffs.
Oettinger picked up his second straight 32-save victory (.941 SV%) in Game 4 as he evened out the Stars' opening series last time out and will start Game 5 on Wednesday as expected. The 25-year-old had a down season as far as counting stats but has pulled it together in the playoffs and has a decent 2-2-0 record, 2.38 GAA and .907 SV% in four games played. He'll look to pick up the series first home victory and take a lead over Vegas as they host the Golden Knights for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Bichsel spent half the season with Rogle BK (SHL) after leaving Texas (AHL) earlier in the season but has returned and been reassigned to the Stars on Wednesday. The 19-year-old defensemen is Dallas' 2022 first round pick (18th overall).
Faksa appears to have suffered an undisclosed injury in Game 2 of the series and has now missed the last two games as a result. Largely relied on for his defensive prowess, Faksa still managed to tally seven goals and 12 assists across 74 games in the 2023-24 regular season.
The Stars will unsurprisingly be sticking with their number-one netminder after Oettinger guided the team to their first victory of the series in Game 3. Oettinger had a terrific game, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced before Wyatt Johnston won the game for Dallas in overtime. Oettinger has rebounded nicely from a disappointing effort in Game 1, allowing just four goals on 59 shots (.932 SV%) across the last two games. He and the Stars enter action on Monday as slight favourites at -125 despite being on the road.
Kiviranta did not play Sunday's 5-1 game-four victory over the Winnipeg Jets and could miss a second straight game. In the series' first three games, Kiviranta tallied one assist and nine hits while averaging 10:14 ice time.
