Two years ago, injuries decimated the Dallas Stars defense. That season, 14 different players saw action on the blueline, including Ben Gleason, who earned an entry level contract just months earlier while on a professional tryout at the Traverse City prospects tournament.
This year, it has been the forward core that has been hit. Tyler Seguin hasn’t seen action since last year’s playoffs, and Alexander Radulov and Roope Hintz have had their time limited by nagging injuries. Joel Kiviranta has also spent time on the sidelines.
As a result, the Stars have iced a plethora of line combinations, but through it all, the defensive pairs have remained remarkably consistent: Esa Lindell and John Klingberg, Jamie Oleksiak and Miro Heiskanen, and a combination of Andrej Sekera, Mark Pysyk, and Joel Hanley.