Dallas Stars: What Tyler Pitlick’s Injury Means For Stars Going Forward

It was announced on Tuesday morning that Dallas Stars forward Tyler Pitlick would miss the next eight weeks of action following wrist surgery. With him now on injured reserve, what does that mean for the Stars going forward?

The Dallas Stars were dealt a relatively tough hand through the first two months of the season.

While trying to adapt to a new coaching staff, new system, and new players in the lineup, the Stars had the added burden of losing various starters to injury. What’s worse is that there seemed to be no end in sight.

Names like Alexander Radulov, Devin Shore, Martin Hanzal, John Klingberg, Marc Methot, Connor  Carrick, Stephen Johns, and Ben Bishop all missed significant amounts of time during the first 35 games of the season. That’s over one-third of their starting lineup. At one point in the year, they were without Klingberg, Methot, Carrick, and Johns at the same time. That’s four of their top-six starting defensemen.

This would be considered a tall task for any hockey team to endure and overcome. And yet, the Dallas Stars found a way to fight through it. They kept themselves close in the Stanley Cup Playoff race and weathered the storm while using rookies and other AHL assets like Denis Gurianov, Gavin Bayreuther, Joel Hanley, and Taylor Fedun to fill the voids.

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Now, here they are at the 53-game mark in the 2018-19 regular season. They are 28-21-4 with 60 points, sit in third place in the Central division, and are riding a five-game win streak. The Stars look as good as they have at any point this year, are finding ways to win games in a variety of ways, and are beginning to settle into their ideal style.

But there are still pitfalls awaiting them and every other team in the NHL. With around two months left in the regular season, every team will have some sort of adversity to face as the playoff race begins to tighten. It’s just how sports work.

Yesterday, the Stars were dealt another dose of adversity.

It was announced on Tuesday afternoon that forward Tyler Pitlick underwent successful wrist surgery. With the surgery done, his status will be reevaluated in eight weeks.

Last Tuesday, Pitlick was put on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 17, 2019. His last action came on Jan. 17 when, following a heavy collision with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown, Pitlick left the ice and did not return for the remainder of the game.

“It was just something over time,” Montgomery told Mark Stepneski of DallasStars.com after Tuesday’s optional. “I don’t know if it was the Brown hit or something in that Kings game that turned it, but it’s a tendon, and you never know when they go from being a nuisance to being painful.”

Eight weeks from Tuesday’s announcement is April 2. That’s four days before the end of the 2018-19 regular season. In other words, Pitlick would be able to play a maximum of three games before the season wraps up. So, there’s a chance that Pitlick doesn’t play for the rest of the regular season campaign.

In his long-term absence, the Dallas Stars are losing a few things.

For one, Pitlick is one of the Stars’ better depth forwards this year. He’s currently tied for eighth on the team in goals with six and has 10 points through 43 starts. Pitlick is averaging the highest ice time of his NHL career at 13:41 and played a big role for Jim Montgomery in recent months.

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He’s also a passionate player that wants to be in the lineup for every game. When Pitlick served as a healthy scratch on Dec. 22 after going 16 consecutive games without a goal, he returned to the lineup one night later and scored the lone Stars’ goal against the New York Islanders. His thoughts about being scratched the night before?

“I wasn’t very happy, obviously,” Pitlick said following the game. “So, I came in and showed that I wasn’t happy.”

Pitlick ended up scoring a goal in three straight games before missing the New Year’s Eve game against Montreal due to his wife going into labor shortly before puck drop.

His intensity is prevalent, and his speed and physicality are working well in the style that Montgomery wants to use. Pitlick is a great third-line checking forward (he has 87 hits this season) alongside Radek Faksa, plays strong minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill, and is a valuable depth forward for the Stars with a friendly cap hit of $1 million.

So, with his absence spanning over the next 26-29 games, how will the Dallas Stars manage?

Well, here’s the good news: the Stars have won five games in a row without Pitlick in the lineup. While it would have been nice to have Pitlick’s strengths in those games, Dallas found a way to win.

In Pitlick’s absence, the Dallas Stars will need their penalty kill running on a hot note. Over the past five games, they have done just that. Dallas is 16/17 (94.1 percent) when shorthanded since the Winnipeg Jets game on Jan. 19. They shut down a red-hot Jets power play with a perfect 6/6 night. They stopped Buffalo on their lone power play last Wednesday. Minnesota went 1/2 after scoring on a four-minute advantage. The Stars kept Nashville to 0/4 on the man advantage. And on Monday night, Dallas went a perfect 4/4 against the Coyotes.

The Stars have kept their PK running at a high success rate primarily because of their deep stock of penalty killers. In terms of forwards, Jason Dickinson, Radek Faksa, Tyler Seguin, and Blake Comeau have been staples in the Dallas PK this year. Andrew Cogliano is making a quick impact since being traded to the Stars on Jan. 14. Mattias Janmark has even stepped in and played heavy minutes shorthanded, limiting chances and even creating some shorthanded opportunities for Dallas with his speed.

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At the moment, the Dallas Stars own the sixth-best penalty kill with a success rate of 83.6 percent. Pitlick’s presence will be missed, but the Stars have proven that they possess the tools and the weapons to fill the void.

But, what about his presence as a depth forward? Well, that’s where the young guns come into play, specifically Denis Gurianov and Roope Hintz.

As two rookie forwards that have fought to keep themselves at the NHL level this season, this is a chance for Gurianov and Hintz to continue proving themselves worthy of bigger roles.

In 29 NHL games this year, Hintz has three goals and six points. Gurianov has one goal and four points in 16 contests.

While their offense hasn’t been entirely dominant or consistent this year, their value has come through the added traits that they bring to the lineup. Both forwards have been in the lineup since the Stars’ win streak began back on Jan. 19.

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Since that time, the Dallas Stars have looked remarkably faster. They have looked stronger, more explosive, and prepared to adapt to anything that the opponent throws at them. That has been for a few different reasons, but Hintz and Gurianov have played valuable roles.

While skating together on the fourth line alongside Brett Ritchie, the trio have helped round out the Dallas offensive attack. Gurianov and Hintz have helped the Stars roll out a four-line assault. Even when skating around 10 minutes per game during the win streak, the two forwards have combined for 16 shots on net. They are generating chances with their speed, pushing the puck up the ice, and putting together strong rushes.

With Pitlick out for two months, there’s a chance that the Stars use Hintz and Gurianov in the lineup for the rest of the year. They are earning their minutes and proving to be sizable assets that help complete the Dallas offense.

So, with Pitlick out, the Dallas Stars are missing a handful of traits and assets. But, they have more than enough firepower to fill the void and continue their surge in the playoff race.

And with 29 games to go, that’s about all a team can ask for.