EDMONTON — After playing four games without their top-line centre, the Dallas Stars had Roope Hintz back in the lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.
Hintz took part in pregame warmups at Rogers Place and was part of Dallas’ top line rushing squad that included Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin.
Hintz missed his fourth straight game on Saturday night, watching the Oilers’ Game 2 win from the sidelines. DeBoer said Hintz was “on the verge of playing” at the time, adding that had it been a Game 7, he probably would have played.
The forward suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of Game 4 against Colorado and will miss the remainder of that game and the next two weeks.
Hintz led Dallas in playoff points last season. He started off poorly this season, scoring just one goal in the first round series against Las Vegas. But he had a big game in Game 2 against Colorado, scoring one goal and recording three assists to help lead the team to a win. He now has two goals and four assists in the playoffs this season.
He also had 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 80 regular season games.
Defenceman Jani Hakanpaa will not travel with the team and will miss Games 3 and 4 on the road.
Hakanpaa has not been on the ice for two months, since his game against the Los Angeles Kings on March 16. At the time of his lower-body injury, his condition was said to be day-to-day, but it quickly worsened and he is expected to be out for a long time.
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