The Dallas Stars remain in wait-and-see mode when it comes to Roope Hintz.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said Tuesday at morning skate the Star’s top-line center will be a game-time decision once again ahead of a 7:00 p.m. puck drop for Dallas’ pivotal Game 4 clash in Edmonton against the Oilers.
Hintz sat out the team’s Game 3 loss on Sunday afternoon following the injury he suffered back in Dallas at the hands of a slash from Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse.
He skated with the team in pregame warmups, but left the ice early and was ultimately scratched ahead of the game.
“He wasn’t close,” DeBoer said after the game Sunday. “If he was close, he probably would’ve played.”
Hintz suffered his injury Friday night just under four minutes into the third period. Hintz cross-checked Nurse in the back, though it wasn’t a penalty, and Nurse retaliated by slashing Hintz in the leg.
The center was left writhing on the ice in pain. His teammates and Stars staff had to help him off the ice and down the tunnel. He never returned.
Nurse’s slash was originally called a major penalty but was downgraded to a minor. He did not face any additional discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety in the days that followed.
Oskar Bäck entered the lineup in Hintz’s absence, and Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson spent time on the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund in Sunday’s 6-1 loss at Rogers Place.
Hintz’s line had been Dallas’ most consistent during an up-and-down postseason in terms of goal scoring. He has 11 points (five goals and six assists) in 15 playoff games.
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