Some bad injury news for the Calgary Flames going into Game 3 of their First Round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.
Matthew Tkachuk will not play on Friday night after being listed as a game-time decision earlier in the day.
He will be replaced on the second line by Tobias Rieder.
Tkachuk was injured early in the third period of Thursday’s game (a 5-4 Stars win) when he was sandwiched between Jamie Oleksiak and Jamie Benn. It was the third different time during the game that Tkachuk had to exit the game and go down the tunnel. That time, he did not return to the game.
[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]
There is no easy way to replace a player like Tkachuk. While he has the reputation for being a pest that always plays right on the line (and sometimes over it) to infuriate his opponents, he is also a legit first-line player and one of the Flames’ go-to offensive players.
He finished the regular season with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 68 games.
So far this postseason he has a goal and an assist for the Flames.
No. 3 Dallas Stars vs. No. 6 Calgary Flames (Series tied 1-1)
Tuesday, Aug. 11: Flames 3, Stars 2 (recap)
Thursday, Aug. 13: Stars 5, Flames 4 (recap)
Friday, Aug. 14: Dallas at Calgary, 10:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Sunday, Aug. 16: Dallas at Calgary, 2 p.m. ET – CNBC
*Tuesday, Aug. 18: Calgary at Dallas – TBD
*Thursday, Aug. 20: Dallas at Calgary – TBD
*Saturday, Aug. 22: Dallas at Calgary – TBD
MORE:
• Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.