Injuries are a part of hockey, and they can be a plague in some seasons. The Stars have been fortunate to have minimal injuries the last couple of seasons. However, this season is an entirely different story with Tyler Seguin tearing his ACL and Matt Duchene having post-concussion symptoms. It has been a wild ride so far this season for the Stars, and luckily, a small flicker of light is at the end of the tunnel because two of their players are expected to join the lineup next week.
Dallas Stars Head Coach Glenn Gulutzan announced this morning he's expecting Nils Lundkvist and Matt Duchene to return to the lineup next week. With the number of AHL players in the lineup right now, it will be good to see some familiar faces return to the ice. Before all the injuries, both players were putting up good numbers and on track for career seasons with the Stars. With both of them returning, it might cause Nill to hold off on making a massive trade to keep everyone on track.
With Seguin out for the remainder of the season, Duchene will bring the offense that was lost with Seguin's injury. Even though the schedule is going to be tough over the next week and Duchene will have to get 110% out of the gate, he will be a welcome addition to the lineup. Lundkvist will certainly help out the blue line, which is completely depleted. We will have more on trades the Stars could make once they put Seguin on the SELTIR list.
With the upcoming schedule, the Stars will welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to town on Sunday in what could be Evgeni Malkin's final game at the American Airlines Center. That's going to be a game worth watching. The Stars also face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, in a Central Division matchup worth watching. The Stars have a nice stretch of games that goes through Christmas. We will have more on the upcoming slate of games on Monday morning.
In conclusion, Duchene and Lundkvist will be welcome additions to the lineup for the upcoming schedule the Stars are about to embark on before the Christmas break. I'm excited to welcome both players back, given the many injuries the Stars are dealing with at the moment. The fact that the Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL. Stay tuned for the pregame article tonight as the Stars host the San Jose Sharks for Hockey Fights Cancer night at the American Airlines Center.