One of the things that can easily derail a team during the regular season is injuries. I've seen hockey teams go from the top of the standings down to the middle of a division with one player getting hurt. After watching the Stars' defense the last five games, you could say the Stars are really missing Lian Bichsel in the lineup. He's been a massive part of the Stars' defense and their ability to shut teams down. While it really hasn't affected the team much, his absence is starting to show.
However, this morning, the Stars media received great news about how his injury rehab is coming along. According to Robert Tiffin, Bichsel is about ready to resume skating at the end of January. For an ailing defense, that's something the Stars are probably happy to hear about this morning. The Stars could use a physical presence in the lineup, and with Bichsel about to resume skating. It sounds like they will have one shortly.
With the Olympics break coming up next month, I wouldn't be shocked if the Stars didn't bring him back into the lineup until after then. It would give him an extra couple of weeks to get back up to speed on that ankle. Maybe he could do a rehab stint with the Texas Stars during that time to get back up to game speed. I would really like to see that happen if he agrees. It's not like he's being sent down there for the remainder of the season.
That's excellent news for the Stars as they are in the middle of a five-game losing streak. They need someone physical to shove other teams around once they get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For now, I wouldn't even worry about making a trade until he comes back to see how the Stars are at full health. The Stars will be back in action tomorrow as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes to open up their six-game road trip. Stay tuned for the pre- and postgame articles tomorrow.