Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said at morning skate Monday that Hintz, who was already ruled out for Game 2 in Dallas Monday, is “highly unlikely” to play in Game 3 Wednesday in Minnesota.
Hintz was injured during Dallas’ March 6 game against the Colorado Avalanche after a collision with Nathan MacKinnon. It was his first game back from the Olympic break after dealing with an illness for over a week before. Hintz then suffered a setback in his recovery, as the Stars initially thought he would return ahead of the postseason.
He was ruled out for Games 1 and 2 ahead of the playoffs, but doesn’t appear to be close to returning. Gulutzan said Sunday that he is not yet skating, either alone or with the group.
Unless something drastically changes, Hintz doesn’t appear to be trending toward playing, at least, in the first half of this series. It wouldn’t be surprising if he missed the entire first round.
Hintz had 44 points in 53 games for the Stars this season. He is Dallas’ top-line centerman, can play on both the power play and penalty kill and is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL.
“We have played our best hockey with three or four of our biggest pieces out,” Gulutzan said. “We have a lot of character. We’ve done it for a long time with guys out. This character is going to try to get it done. I have all the belief that they will.”