Hintz missed the morning skate but head coach Jim Montgomery said that Hintz will be available for Game 7 in St. Louis. Hintz will centre the second line with Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov on his wings and comes in with three goals and two assists in six games in the series.
Rantanen missed the final seven games of the regular season but is ready to play in Game 1 in Calgary. Rantanen had four assists in six playoff games a year ago and had three points (1G / 2A) in three games vs. the Flames this year.
Benn will get the night off to make sure that he is 100 percent heading into the postseason. Justin Dowling will move into the Stars top-6 with Benn sitting out.
Faksa was forced to leave Tuesday’s game against the Rangers with a neck injury and will not play Thursday vs. Colorado. Faksa is day-to-day.
Benn is day-to-day with an upper-body injury but is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. The Stars will be in tough without both Benn and the recently added Mats Zuccarello.
Both Benn and Mats Zuccarello were hurt in the Stars game in Chicago on Sunday and Benn is unlikely to play on Tuesday. Monitor his status during the Stars morning skate, but it looks like Dallas will be without 2/3 of their top-line in an important game in Vegas.
Duchene is expected to walk across the hall and make his Blue Jackets debut tonight in Ottawa. It remains to be seen where Duchene will slot into the lineup, but the second line seems like the most reasonable spot. Despite playing for a mostly poor Senators team, Duchene is on-pace to set a new career-high in goals (39) and points (84). The 2019 first-round pick is lottery protected and the Senators will only receive the 2020 pick if Duchene re-signs in Columbus.
Perron remains on IR with an upper-body injury that he suffered in mid-January. Perron will miss his 14th straight game on Thursday but with the Blues rolling like they are right now, there is no need for them to rush the veteran winger back into the lineup.
