Dallas Stars Bulletin Board: Bishop on IR, Stars head to the Sunshine state
Doctor’s Office: Ben Bishop out day-to-day with UBI
The Stars were plagued with injuries in the opening half of the season, but the injuries slowed to a stop (with the exception of Stephen Johns and Marc Methot), and the roster benefitted from healthy returns of players. However, the team has been faced with an injury scare that could be catastrophic to the Stars’ playoff chances. Late last week, the Stars announced that goaltender Landon Bow had been recalled from the Texas Stars (AHL) to replace Ben Bishop, who had been placed on the IR with an upper-body injury.
The Dallas Stars have recalled goaltender Landon Bow from Texas (AHL).
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) February 7, 2019
Bishop, who will miss his third straight game on Tuesday, did not practice on Monday, per Stars’ Inside Edge Mark Stepneski. He hasn’t played since Feb. 4, when he saved 38 of 42 shots in Dallas’ aforementioned 5-4 win over Arizona. Bishop has been outstanding for Dallas this season and is among one of the best goaltenders in the league in save percentage and goals against average.
Defenseman Romak Polak was knocked out of the game in Arizona on Saturday night after being sent into the boards from behind by Lawson Crouse. Per Stars’ Head Coach Jim Montgomery, Polak passed the concussion protocol and is expected to play against the Panthers on Tuesday night and practiced on Monday.
The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro also reported that Stars’ forward Martin Hanzal is nowhere close to returning to the lineup. Hanzal suffered a back injury after playing in seven games when he returned to the lineup after being injured late last season. He scored a goal and an assist in the seven games he played.
Line Changes
The Stars have altered their offensive lines and switched players in and out of the lineup. Here are the projected lines, per Mark Stepneski.
Roope Hintz – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov
Jamie Benn – Jason Dickinson – Blake Comeau
Andrew Cogliano – Jason Spezza – Brett Ritchie
Mattias Janmark – Radek Faksa – Valeri Nichushkin
The defensive pairings are the same, and Anton Khudobin is expected to get the nod between the pipes in what will be his third game in a row.
Nichushkin will replace Gurianov, who was called up last week after the team announced that forward Tyler Pitlick was out after undergoing wrist surgery.
Trade Rumors and Scouting Updates
Several teams across the league have had scouts at several of Dallas’ games in the past few weeks.
Here is a scout list to overreact to from Arizona-Dallas: Nashville, Detroit, Montreal, Washington, Vegas, Edmonton, Columbus, San Jose, St. Louis, LA (x2), NY Islanders, Philly, Pittsburgh
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) February 9, 2019
Many of the scouts that were in Dallas last night have also made drive down I-35. In total 16 teams have scouts watching Grand Rapids-Texas this evening: Toronto, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Winnipeg, NJ (x2) NYI, Montreal, Vegas, Vancouver, Philly, SJ, Detroit, Boston, Ottawa
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) January 31, 2019
Scout list for Stars-Sabres this evening: Vancouver, Vegas, NJ, Nashville, Montreal, Pittsburgh (x2), Chicago, Tampa, LA, Winnipeg, Anaheim, NY Islanders, Minnesota, Detroit, Toronto, Edmonton, Philly, San Jose, Ottawa
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) January 31, 2019
One of the teams that has made numerous appearances on the list is Washington, who has been rumored to be shopping around forward Andre Burakovsky.
The NHL Trade Deadline, which is Feb. 25, is less than two weeks away. Several major trades across the league have already gone down, none of which involved the Stars.
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What do you think, Stars fans? Will the Dallas Stars improve on the road? Will Ben Bishop return soon? Will GM Jim Nill make a blockbuster trade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!