Injury-plagued Stars lose Radek Faksa, Joel Kiviranta against Predators - The Dallas Morning News

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The injuries keep coming for the Stars.

During a 4-3 shootout loss to the Predators on Sunday, the Stars lost Radek Faksa and Joel Kiviranta to lower-body injuries. After the game, Stars coach Rick Bowness said he did not have an update on the two players.

“They’ll be checked over the next couple of days,” Bowness said. “I know they’ll probably get some MRIs, whatever they need to do. That’s all I know at this point.”

Faksa left the game after blocking two shots during a second-period Nashville power play and left the game with 9:21 left in the second. Kiviranta, meanwhile, had one shift in the third period and left the game with 16:27 left in the third.

The Stars — already without Roope Hintz and Alexander Radulov on Sunday — played with 10 forwards the rest of the game. As a result, three forwards played more than 20 minutes: Jason Robertson (22:09), Jason Dickinson (22:02) and Joe Pavelski (20:36).

“You just try to keep the shifts as short as possible,” Bowness said. “At this point, you’re talking 20-25 seconds and get them off.”

Injuries has been a main storyline for the Stars this season, and likely will continue to be one because of their tightened schedule. Here’s how many games Dallas players missed in the first half of the season.

Tyler Seguin (offseason hip surgery): 28 games

Ben Bishop (offseason knee surgery): 28 games

Stephen Johns (head injuries): 28 games

Alexander Radulov (lower body, will continue throughout the season): 17 games

Roope Hintz (lower body, will continue throughout the season): nine games

Joel Kiviranta (lower body): eight games

Mark Pysyk (lower body): six games

Andrej Sekera (COVID-19 protocol, then an illness): six games

Blake Comeau (COVID-19 protocol, then upper body): five games

Jamie Benn (lower body): four games

Andrew Cogliano (illness): two games

“We’re disappointed we lost that point, but you’re down to 10 forwards halfway through in the four [games] in six [nights] and the workload we’ve had, give the guys credit,” Bowness said. “They sucked it up and they worked their butts off. They gave us everything they could tonight.”

Power play personnel: Sunday was the fifth straight game that the Stars trotted out a top power play unit that featured both John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen, joined by Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson.

Normally, Klingberg would quarterback the top unit and Heiskanen would run the second. What does Bowness like about putting them both on one unit and allowing Esa Lindell to direct the other one?

“You need guys out there that can make something out of nothing,” Bowness said. “What I mean by that is if there’s a shot, a scramble, they get the puck, they find somebody open. It’s not always the set plays, it rarely is the set plays. With John and Miro together, you’ve got two high-end guys with great vision. They are able to make something out of nothing, find a scramble, find a broken play and made a play, make something happen.”

Bowness added that the top unit needs to shoot the puck more: “Sometimes, they’re too cute, they’re looking for the perfect play or another play when you don’t have to do that.”

Almost won: The Stars could have won the game in overtime, but Klingberg’s shot from the right circle clanked off the far post. Klingberg finished with five shots on goal and eight total attempts in 23:56.

“That shot off the post in overtime, it’s about half an inch from going,” Bowness said. “Keep shooting. He’s got a great release and he’s got an offensive mind. Offensive players have got to be able to use their creativity, but he’s got that quick release.”

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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