The Dallas Stars picked up a big 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. But, it came at a price as the Stars lost defenseman John Klingberg for at least three weeks.
Sometimes, wins come with a price. On Thursday night, the Dallas Stars learned that the hard way.
The Stars welcomed the San Jose Sharks to the AAC on Thursday to kick off a four-game homestand. Dallas had wrapped up a six-game road trip just two nights before with a loss in Columbus and was looking to get back into the win column to start off their four-game stay.
San Jose entered the game as one of the top teams in the Pacific division and boasted some of the best talent in the NHL. They offered another tough challenge for the Stars, who were trying to keep themselves in the middle of the Central division race.
It ended up turning into quite the show. The Stars took the early 1-0 lead, though the Sharks clawed back soon after to tie it up. Following that, Dallas picked up two goals for a 3-1 advantage only to see their lead diminish midway through the third period. But with less than six minutes to go, the Stars turned the tide one last time, making it a 4-3 game which ended up being the final.
Dallas secured their ninth win of the season and improved to 9-6-1 overall on the year. But, as mentioned above, the win came at a serious cost.
Here is play where Klingberg got hurt pic.twitter.com/80njYVJltc
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) November 9, 2018
Around the six-minute mark of the third period, Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg exited the game and did not return. In his final shift, it looked as though the puck deflected off of Klingberg’s upper half.
Following the game, it was announced that Klingberg will miss at least the next three weeks with an upper-body injury.
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That’s a serious blow to a Dallas Stars defense that had been consistently ticking up. The Stars currently own one of the top-ten defensive units in the NHL with Klingberg is leading the charge. He’s currently second on the team in goals with five and points with 13. He’s the quarterback of the Dallas power play and has been a staple in the penalty kill as well.
At age 26 and in his fifth season, the superstar defender is already leading the team in average time on ice and is playing a crucial role on defense yet again.
With Klingberg’s absence from the lineup, the Dallas Stars blue line will have quite the test on their hands over the next three weeks. The defensive lineup is already banged up as it is, and now they will have to get along without their best member.
It’s time to see what they are made of in this early-season test.