Stars Lose Two More Key Defensemen as Injuries Pile Up

The Dallas Stars will be without several defensemen in the coming days, according to reports Friday. 

According to head coach Glen Gulutzan, defenseman Lian Bichsel is out at least two weeks and is listed as week-to-week while Miro Heiskanen will miss Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres but could return Sunday against the Florida Panthers.

It has been a tough season for the Stars when it comes to health. Bichsel and Heiskanen join a group of players already sidelined, starting with Matt Duchene, who has missed the entire season and is on long-term injured reserve after undergoing surgery to repair a core injury. Oskar Back, a key depth center who helps anchor the bottom six up the middle and plays on special teams, is also on LTIR.

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With Bichsel and Heiskanen out, Dallas will have three defensemen sidelined, as depth defender Kyle Capobianco is also on injured reserve. That leaves the Stars very thin on the back end.

Throughout the season, Wyatt Johnston, Radek Faksa, Esa Lindell, Colin Blackwell, Joel Kiviranta and Sam Steel have each missed two or more games as well, forcing the team to constantly shuffle its lineup. That makes Dallas' early-season success all the more impressive.

The Stars continue their homestand with a back-to-back this weekend before a brief road trip that includes two games in Vegas against the Golden Knights, next Tuesday and Thursday.

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