The Dallas Stars announced some unfortunate news yesterday that saddened some fans. Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson have been ruled out of game 7 tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. While it stinks, the Stars must try their best to eliminate the Avalanche tonight. That means players must sacrifice their bodies to block shots on the ice. The Stars can win tonight; however, it's up to the players if they want to play more hockey.
To be honest, it stinks not having Robertson or Heiskanen in the lineup in this series. Both players suffered critical injuries at different points. Unfortunately, Mark Stone ran into Heiskanen's knee in Vegas, and Robertson got injured in Nashville. However, that can happen to hockey players at any point during the season. There's nothing the Stars can do besides focus on the point goal for the season. It's the task with all the healthy players on your roster.
The Stars could use Jason Robertson's scoring ability tonight. He was on a scoring streak after the 4 Nations Tournament ended and the remainder of the regular season resumed. That would be nice to have on the top line, but the Stars must move on with Mikael Granlund joining the top line. They had a good game 6 if the remainder of the team did their jobs (except Otter). It would be nice to have tonight off while Winnipeg and St. Louis duke it out on Sunday.
Miro Heiskanen's leadership on the blue line has been missed during this series. The number of back-door goals the Avalanche have scored in game 6 is terrifying. The Stars could have ended their season if players like Cody Ceci knew who to guard in front of the net. Now the Stars are going up against the Avalanche tonight, who have a lot of hope of advancing to the next round of the playoffs. The Stars can't think of how they would have won the series with both in the lineup.
The Stars must focus on eliminating the Avalanche tonight and getting some rest before the next round. If the Stars advance to the next round, they will be going up against an excellent team, regardless of whether it's Winnipeg or St. Louis. Tonight, the Stars fight whether they exit the playoffs or continue to the semifinals. Whatever they want to do, they will have to do it without Heiskanen or Robertson in the lineup.