Another Stars defenseman could miss time before the Four Nations Face-Off.

Ilya Lyubushkin is the latest in a string of injuries to the Dallas Stars blue line that is already missing Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist.

After several seasons in a row of the team being able to dodge the injury bug, this year the Stars have been plagued with absences to the lineup. Between hip shoulder, knee surgery, shoulder surgery and multiple facial surgeries, the Stars cannot catch a break.

The newest victim to the injury bug, Lyubushkin, did not play after the 14 minute mark in the second period Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks and did not return to the game for the third period. Head coach Pete DeBoer did not have an update after the game, and yesterday was an off day for the Stars where the team hit the links and relaxed in the Southern California sunshine. 

Today, they had practice in Los Angeles ahead of their game against the Kings tomorrow night. It was reported that Lyubushkin skated up and down the ice a couple times but left practice early before drills got started.

When asked about the Russian defenseman after practice, DeBoer said that they "will know more tomorrow" and listed Lyubushkin and Mavrik Bourque as game time decisions for Friday night.

The season ending shoulder surgery for Lundkvist and the knee surgery that has Heiskanen listed as month-to-month forced General Manager Jim Nill's hand a little bit before the trade deadline. Nill made a trade with San Jose that included right-shot defenseman Cody Ceci to restore some veteran depth on the back end. As of now, Lyubushkin's injury doesn't sound serious, but the two week break for the Four Nations Face-Off could not come sooner for the beaten and battered Stars roster.

Until then, Dallas has a back-to-back looming Friday and Saturday night against the Kings and the San Jose Sharks. 

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