Valeri Nichushkin Expected to Miss Four Months
Dallas Stars right-wing Valeri Nichushkin will undergo hip surgery and is expected to miss four months, meaning he won’t play until mid to late March at the earliest.
He sustained an initial groin injury in mid-October and was placed on injured reserve. Nichushkin was later taken off of IR and sent to Dallas’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, for a conditioning stint. He returned to NHL action on November 6th, but reported soreness in both his groin and hip following that game and hasn’t played since.
Nichushkin was typically seen playing alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn both last season and in the few games this season, but his absence has prompted Jason Spezza to take his place on the Stars’ first line. Luckily for the Stars, it is a trio that has sparked some consistency on the ice and is one that Head Coach Lindy Ruff seems to be quite fond of.
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