The Dallas Stars injury situation has been out of control this season and it is not getting any better anytime soon.
With Jason Spezza forced to leave Saturday’s game and being unavailable for Sunday, and Jiri Hudler being placed on injured reserve due to an illness, the team might be forced to use a defenseman as a forward on Sunday night when the team takes on the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Stars did call up Justin Dowling from the AHL earlier in the day, but because he has played in two games in two days (and traveled) coach Lindy Ruff said before the game that he is considering using a defenseman to fill a forward spot.
Patrick Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak and Jordie Benn were all specifically mentioned as options if it came to that.
Along with Spezza and Hudler, the Stars are also dealing with injuries to Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, Cody Eakin and Mattias Janmark. That is a ton of firepower out of the lineup, and it has taken the league’s most dangerous offense the past two seasons and put them near the bottom of the league so far this season.
Entering play on Sunday the Stars were averaging just 2.55 goals per game, a mark that puts them 22nd in the NHL.